Moonlight Magician
by Uxie22
Summary: What if Conan wasn't a boy, but a girl...? KID knows that Christie Edogawa is different from other children, but just how different? And what does she know about Pandora?
1. Chapter 1

What if Conan wasn't a boy, but a girl...?

None of the Detective Conan or Magic Kaitou characters in this book belong to me.

Just so you get the right mental image, the Conan (or Christie, as I have now named her) in this story has long, light blonde hair- inherited from Yukiko. But that's the only major image change.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Christie huffed as she ran through an endless maze of halls, in pursuit of KID. She glanced around, then activated the tracking device in her glasses, which she had just managed to stick onto KID a few minutes previously, before he had decided to make a break for it.

She smirked as her glasses showed her the right path to take, and, only just avoiding a pink glitter trap, made her way to the rooftop.

Gasping for breath, she glared at the grinning white magician standing before her. "Give me the diamond, KID", she demanded, without much hope that he would do as she said.

KID, still grinning, shook his head and tutted annoyingly. "I want, never get, tantei-chan. You know that."

Christie drew her arms behind her back and, very slowly, began to open up her tranquilizer watch. "You always return it anyway, so why not just give it to me now, and save yourself the pain?", she suggested, giving him a bright smile.

KID gave an unnoticeable shiver and concentrated on keeping his poker face intact- it always unnerved him a little when she said such threatening things with such a sweet expression.

"Perhaps because I want to tease you a little, tantei-chan", he said, feeling a retort was in order. "Your frustrated face is just _so_ cute."

Christie's eye twitched at the cute comment. "I am not cute", she said, scowling.

KID reached into a pocket and took out two smoke bombs. "Oh, but you _are_, tantei-chan."

He threw the smoke bombs just as Christie fired her watch. He heard her curse as he turned her hair a luminous shade of neon pink.

As the smoke unfurled into the air, KID turned and sprinted for the edge of the rooftop, ducking slightly as the tranquilizer needle whizzed past his head. He leaped into empty space and allowed his hanglider to unfurl. Glancing back, he grinned as he watched Nakamori's men spill out onto the rooftop.

"I'll get you next time, KID!", he dimly heard Nakamori yell.

Still grinning widely, KID flew away home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"For how long are you going to sulk?", Haibara Ai asked as she and Christie walked to school the next morning.

"I'm not sulking", protested Christie, trying in vain to hold back a yawn. "I'm just t-t-", *yawn*, "tired."

"Well, what do you expect? You can't just stay up all night like you used to, not when you have the body of a child."

"I know", Christie snapped as they reached the gates. Lack of sleep made her cranky- that, and not getting any sleep after spending what was left of the night trying to get neon pink dye out of her hair. Who knew that pouring milk on it would work?

"Children need at least twelve hours of sleep each night."

"I _know_!"

"Christie! Don't yell at Ai!", Ayumi cried, running up to them and throwing her arms around Haibara, who smirked at Christie and mouthed, '_Twelve hours'_ before walking to class.

Christie sighed heavily and followed them.

* * *

Kaito Kuroba stretched out on his bed and grinned. He held the recently stolen diamond up to his eye and watched as his view of the room became distorted and tilted. He smirked as he remembered Christie's face when he'd flown off in his hanglider, and the look she'd given the taskforce as she slipped out the door they'd come through. If looks could kill, they'd be on a slab.

He could see her point- the taskforce were certainly incompetent. Where did Nakamori get them, Idiots R Us?

Kaito frowned a little. Tantei-chan was quite an odd child- she acted _much_ older than she looked, even older than the adults around her. Her looks were quite odd for a Japanese child too- long, light blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes. She looked foreign.

And her gadgets. What weirdo would ever give a tranquilizer watch and a voice-changing necklace to a child? Granted, she was good with them, but _still_.

Kaito looked out at the darkening sky, and then towards the secret room where he kept his KID costume and various disguises. There was another heist planned for tonight.

Time to prepare.

* * *

_"Ladies and gentlemen! Prepare yourselves for Kaitou KID's most spectacular heist yet!"_

KID'S voice rang out from all around the room, causing the room's occupants to start and stare around wildly.

"KID! Where are you hiding?!", Nakamori roared, causing those closest to him to wince and cover their ears.

The whole room gasped as dozens of butterflies appeared to erupt from the floor. Every single one of them looked as though it were alight with flickering violet fire. The light dimmed until the only light sources in the room were the fluttering, flaming butterflies and the bright moon outside, which poured into the room like molten silver.

Snickering, KID fingered the gem inside his pocket. He had stolen it while everybody was distracted by the sudden appearance of the flaming butterflies. Now, he was disguised as a member of Nakamori's taskforce, pretending to be as enthralled by the flaming butterflies as everybody else was.

There was movement to his left, and he saw Christie frowning across the room at the fake gem KID had left in the real one's place. KID felt a little miffed- why wasn't tantei-chan looking at his magic trick like everyone else? Didn't she like it?

Christie glanced sideways at him. "KID, you forgot to put on contact lenses- the man you're impersonating has brown eyes."

KID's violet eyes widened, and he forced his poker face into effect. "Well done, tantei-chan, but I've still got the jewel. I'll be taking my leave now."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and by the time everyone was aware of what had happened, Christie was halfway to the roof.

* * *

As she opened the door, a feather trap exploded in her face- most likely intended for any victims of the glue trap she had dodged earlier. Brushing feathers out of her hair, she walked out onto the roof where KID was waiting.

"Why are you so slow, tantei-chan?", KID said playfully.

"Considering how small I am compared to you, and how I always manage to get here just after you, I'd say that you're the slow one", Christie answered, activating her tranquilizer watch.

"Oh? Don't you want to chat more?", KID said, staring at the watch.

Christie grinned and fired.

KID jumped out of the way, eliciting a curse from Christie, and threw a smoke bomb. He turned to sprint for the edge of the rooftop, and was promptly knocked down by a soccer ball that cannoned out of the smoke and hit him in the small of his back.

He lay motionless on the ground, dazed.

Christie walked up to him and allowed herself a small victory grin as she watched him struggling to recover. She heaved him onto his back and reached into his inside pocket, pulling out the two stones she found there- the diamond from the night before, and the gem that had been stolen that very night.

Then, she bent so that her lips were beside his ear and whispered, grinning, "This round goes to me, KID."

_That little brat..._

"KID!", Nakamori yelled, bursting out onto the roof and receiving a face full of feathers. They clung onto him, showing Christie that he had been caught in the previously mentioned glue trap. The taskforce filed in through the narrow doorway, all covered in different shades of glitter and gunk.

Groaning quietly, KID struggled to his feet and glared at Christie. "I'm gonna get you for that."

Christie winked at him. "Poker face", she warned quietly, then turned and ran into the arms of Ran, who had followed the taskforce out along with Kogorou. "Kyaaah! KID said he's gonna get me!"

Switching his poker face back on, KID mockingly saluted Nakamori and did a back flip over the edge of the roof.

As he sailed away on his hanglider, he vowed to get revenge on Christie Edogawa.

* * *

Here's the second chapter... Please review, and if there's any way you reckon I can improve it, then just say so!

Thanks :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Christie stared doubtfully at Haibara as she emptied a syringe into her arm. "Are you sure this is safe?", she asked.

"It's safe", Haibara assured her. "It probably won't kill you." Ignoring Christie's look of sudden horror, she continued, "You can expect some nausea and dizziness after you turn back into a child."

"So it's not permanent?", said Christie, deciding to ignore the 'probably' part of 'it won't kill you.' Knowing Ai, it was just a scare tactic. Hopefully.

"Most likely not. It's slow working, so you can do what you want until sometime tomorrow. When you feel it working, come here to transform- it wouldn't do for other people to see you grow."

"All right", said Christie, hopping down from her seat and pausing to let Ai place a plaster over the syringe prick. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Ai waved her out.

* * *

Christie went back to Mouri's detective agency and found Ran standing in the kitchen.

"Hi, Ran-neechan!", she chirped, taking off her shoes and hanging her jacket up.

"Hello, Christie", said Ran, smiling at her. She noticed the plaster covering Christie's arm and frowned. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Er... yeah, I went skateboarding and fell off", said Christie sheepishly. "It's only a little scratch. But", she added, feeling her sentence needed an element of cuteness and hating herself for it, "I didn't cry at all!"

"You're so brave", said Ran, smiling at her fondly. "Be more careful next time!"

"I will!"

Christie stepped into her room and dropped her cute-kid persona with a sigh of relief. She got out her ridiculously easy grade school homework and began filling out the answers, taking care to get some wrong. She didn't want to be seen as _too_ intelligent.

She thought back to her old life as she worked, back to the time before the Black Organisation shrunk her.

* * *

Although Christie had been born in Japan, she'd actually spent a large portion of her life in England with her mother and father. Ran was her childhood friend, and they'd kept in touch with letters and lengthy phone conversations, until she was at the age where she could move back again- this time without her parents.

In Japan, she had solved many mysteries and had eventually gained the title Detective of the East. It was after she had just solved a complicated murder that she encountered the Black Organisation, whose members wore raven-black clothing, and was given the poison APTX4869 after she witnessed a sort of illegal trade/blackmail payment.

The poison APTX4869 was a very odd poison. For example, when given to someone with the right conditions inside their body it would not kill them. It would turn them into a child.

Fortunately for Christie, or perhaps unfortunately, that was exactly what happened to her.

With no idea what to do, she had gone to Professor Agasa's house for help, and encountered Ran for the very first time in her new body. She had come up with her current name by glancing at the bookshelves behind her- Agatha Christie and Edogawa Rampo had helped greatly with creating a new identity. Then, with a little help from Professor Agasa, who said that Christie was a distant relative of his, she had managed to get temporarily adopted by Ran and Kogorou Mouri.

Now she lived at Ran's house, trying desperately to find a cure for the poison that had shrunk her, and vowing to somehow bring down the Black Organisation.

* * *

Christie looked down at her completed homework and shut the school book with a sigh. Truth be told, she knew there would later be times where she would think back to her life as Christie Edogawa with longing- it was so relaxed and mundane compared to her life as a teenager.

_If_ she ever got her body back...

She wandered out of her room just as Ran came in through the front door. Christie frowned. She hadn't noticed Ran go out.

"You went out, Ran-neechan?", she asked.

"I've just come back from school", Ran said. "I've just dropped by to get rid of my school bag before going shopping for dinner."

Christie's eyes widened. If Ran had been at school all day, who had Christie been talking to in the kitchen?

Christie opened her mouth to tell Ran... then closed it again. She couldn't involve Ran- who knew who these people were? If it were the Black Organisation, they wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

"Oh, okay", she said. "Just thought I'd heard you come in earlier. Have fun!"

"See you later, Christie-chan", Ran smiled, and closed the door.

Christie stood very still as she considered her options. She'd left her tranquilizer watch in the bedroom and her shoes in the kitchen. She couldn't get to either of them without the impostor seeing her, providing she still believed Christie thought she was Ran. The best thing for Christie to do would be to leave the house and call the police, and hope that nobody came home before they arrived.

She slipped on another pair of shoes and had just opened the door when she felt something press against the back of her head.

Sometimes you don't need to look to know there's a gun behind you. It carries a whisper of death that doesn't need sight to be identified.

She stiffened and watched in silence as a hand reached past her head and pushed the door closed.

"Turn around", the impostor said, still speaking in Ran's voice.

Christie did as she was told and stared up at the chilly smirk on Ran's face- an odd expression to see on her.

"Ver...mouth?", she asked, naming the only individual she could think of who could disguise themselves so well.

Confusion flickered briefly in the impostor's eyes at the unfamiliar name. "No", she said, moving the gun so it was pointing directly in between Christie's eyes. "Even worse."

She pulled the trigger.

* * *

A cliff-hanger! Albeit a slightly lame one. Dun dun dun!

Please review, and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter of Moonlight Magician! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Bang!", Kaitou KID said gleefully, in his normal voice. A bunch of white roses shot from the gun and crash-landed against Christie's head. "You're dead, tantei-chan. _Told_ you I'd get you back!"

Christie stared wide-eyed at KID, who was obviously very pleased with himself. It wasn't Vermouth. The Black Organisation hadn't come for her. It was KID. Just KID.

Thank God.

Christie began to laugh in relief, the adrenalin rush making her light-headed. KID grinned at her uncertainly as she sank to the floor, laughing hysterically, tears streaming down her face.

"I admit it was funny... but not_ that_ funny, tantei-chan."

"KID", Christie gasped, "you'd better... run, 'cos when this wears off... I'm going to _kill_ you."

KID's grin widened as he suddenly regained his poker face. "Guess I really scared you, huh?", he said, picking up on the slight hysteria in her tone. "Tell you what, as an apology, I'll invite you to my heist tonight."

He whipped out a white card with a flourish, and held it out for Christie. It had the location, time, and place of his heist listed in a riddle, a heart, and, of course, his signature KID caricature.

Christie, wiping tears from her eyes and getting to her feet, glanced at it, then pushed it away. "Give it to the police. I don't want it."

KID blinked at her. "Why not, tantei-chan? Don't you want to solve the riddle?"

"It'd be a bit pointless, seeing as I don't intend to come."

"Why? Why aren't you coming?"

Christie glanced at the plaster on her arm. "I'm... ill."

"Liar~", KID sang, following her as she made her way into the bedroom. "Don't forget, tantei-chan, I can always tell when you're lying!"

Christie casually picked up her tranquilizer watch and strapped it on. "Fine. I have plans tonight."

"Plans? With who?"

"Nobody you know."

"Is it a boy?", KID asked teasingly.

Christie snorted as she thought of the boys in her grade school class. "Nope." Then a thought occurred to her. "You do realize that when Ran comes back and sees you walking around with her face, she'll have a heart attack?" _And beat you into next Wednesday, but I have no obligation to tell you that. _Christie smirked inwardly.

There was a small bang from behind her, and Christie turned to see KID back in his top hat, suit, and irritating grin.

Christie deadpanned. "Will you go away now?"

KID pouted. "Why are you so mean to me, tantei-chan? You always act so nice and... childish towards everyone else."

The corners of Christie's mouth turned up slightly, an action that was not missed by KID. "Nice and childish how?"

KID cleared his throat. "Ran-neechan! I ate all my lunch today, just like you said to!", he called, mimicking Christie's fake childish voice perfectly.

Christie turned away to hide her grin.

"Why do you never treat_ me_ like that?", KID continued huffily. "You _never_ act like a child towards me."

"Perhaps you should be grateful?", Christie suggested, against her better judgment. "After all, you're one of the very small group of people who have the privilege of seeing the real me. Not even Ran has that."

KID stared hard at the back of her head. "So, you're not who Ran thinks you are?"

"I'm not who anybody thinks I am", she said sadly.

KID frowned inwardly. He was aware that Christie was different from other children her age, but it was only now that he wondered just_ how_ different.

But there was something he was certain of. Christie had a secret, one that she kept even from Ran. What was she hiding?

"Anyway, I don't care what you say, I'm not coming", Christie continued, relieved that she had gotten over her brief burst of depression. "Go play with Hakuba instead."

He's in bed with the flu", KID said, pouting again. "Of all the times... what an irresponsible detective!"

"Why do you want me to come anyway?", Christie said suddenly, turning and treating KID to a hundred-kilowatt, diamond-blue stare. "Isn't it more advantageous for you if there are no detectives around to interfere with your heist?"

"I can't help it", KID whined. "It's you detectives that make it fun!"

"Glad to be of service", said Christie dryly. Actually, she felt oddly flattered- but there was no need to tell him that.

KID laughed. "So, what's the answer? Yes? Or yes?"

"No." Christie opened her watch and fired it at him. KID watched, amused, as she paled slightly when nothing came out.

"Not as stupid as I look, huh?", he said, waving the stolen tranquilizer dart at her tauntingly. "Oh, come on, it'll be fun", he added, seeing her glaring at him. "I'll treat you to a bag of sweets afterwards. Haribo do you?"

Christie wrinkled her nose. "Yeuch."

"Okay, no Haribo. You like lollipops? Chocolate?"

"I'm not too keen on sweet things."

"Then you're not like any kid _I_ know." _But I already knew that. _

"Your heist's tonight, right?"

"Yup!"

"Then I'm definitely not coming."

"What if I beg?"

"No! I'm not coming, and that's final!"

KID looked at her sideways. "Hmm. Then it looks like I'll just have to make you."

Christie glared at KID suspiciously. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, KID, don't even try it."

"It's bed time for little tantei-chan!", KID sang, and slipped on what looked like a clear, glass gas mask.

Bright pink smoke filled the room, and Christie took a step back, her legs suddenly unable to support her. KID's arms emerged from the smoke and lifted her off her feet before they gave up their load.

"Don't worry, I'll be nice", he whispered, and the darkness closed in.

* * *

I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter of Moonlight Magician. Please review! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

There were quiet voices around her. Christie listened to them, halfway between waking and sleeping.

"Are you sure that it was KID who really did this? It's not a prank?"

"When will the brat wake up?"

Ran's voice was clearest, perhaps because she was so near. "Christie... please wake up..."

Christie listened with growing worry as she slowly remembered the events of the past few hours. What had happened? How long had she been out? Who were these people?

What had KID done?

A voice that boomed through the house, causing walls to shudder and windows to tremble roared, regardless of the sleeping child in the room:

"KID! I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME!"

Christie groaned. Nakamori. She could have done without his annoying battle cry.

_Wait, what is he doing here?_

Head throbbing, ears twanging, Christie opened her eyes and stared up at Ran's worried face.

"...KID?", she mumbled, her head still addled by the knockout gas. What was KID doing back in his disguise?

Ran's face became even more worried. "No", she said, "my name's Ran. Remember?"

Christie blinked and sat up, shaking off the effects of the gas. "Sorry, Ran-neechan, I remember now. Why is Nakamori-san here?", she added, hearing voices just outside of the room.

"We had to call him and the police after KID broke in and left his messages." Ran held up the white card KID had tried to get her to take.

"But... why didn't you just send the message to him instead of having him come over?"

Ran showed Christie an image on her phone. "I did say that there was more than one message..."

_'The angel of justice with a halo of silver must amuse the moonlight demon for Heaven's Light to be safely returned..._

_Kaitou KID *doodle*'_

Christie frowned at KID's note. It wasn't one of his more_ imaginative_ ones...

_He must have been in a hurry, _Christie thought.

"Angel of justice... that means me, right?", she said, staring at the photo. There was something odd about what it was written on... "But I don't really get the bit about Heaven's Light."

"That's what the jewel he's going to steal is called", Ran supplied. "Nakamori-san thinks that the angel of justice means you too."

"How comes?" Christie had only decided it was her from KID's insistence that she come, and how the note was worded.

"Well, you might not realize it, Christie-chan, but when you go under the moon, your hair turns a sort of silver colour. Nakamori-san noticed it, and said that your hair was the silver halo KID was referring to... and the rest isn't too hard to figure out."

Christie sighed and frowned at the photo. The way things were going, Nakamori would probably force her to come in order to get the jewel back, which was, of course, KID's intention. Maybe she could get off by pretending to be sick, or... that was it! She could pretend to be scared of KID's threat of revenge from earlier! That would definitely get her off!

Christie smiled slightly as she thought of Nakamori. He hadn't even taken into account that KID didn't have the jewel yet- if the taskforce did their jobs properly, then there was no need for Christie to come at all.

Not that they would actually do their jobs properly, and Christie didn't really blame them. Catching KID was like trying to nail fog to a wall.

"I still don't understand why you couldn't just have sent Nakamori both of the messages. Why did he have to come here? Ran-neechan?", she added hastily.

"Take a closer look at the photo", Ran suggested, holding the phone up again. "Look at what it's written on."

Christie looked. And looked. Then stared. Her mouth dropped open with a slight popping noise.

"No... way", she said.

_Had he really-?_

"He didn't... did he?", she said.

Ran smiled slightly at the appalled look on Christie's face. "Yes, that's right. He wrote it on your back."

In the next room, a police officer who had been leaning against the door gave a small snicker. He was quite young, and had dark, messy hair and violet eyes. He pushed away from the door and left the building. Nobody noticed him leave.

KID abandoned his disguise and sauntered home. His revenge on Christie was complete.

* * *

That evening saw Christie, Ran, and Kogorou at KID's heist. Christie had spent the past few hours whining, begging, crying fake tears, and dry-retching (because she was 'ill') to Ran, in a bid to be left behind at the agency.

The reason? Christie didn't entirely trust Haibara's assurance that the antidote she had been given would only begin to work the following day. What if she had got it wrong, and Christie turned back to her normal self in front of everyone? Her life would be ruined, and it was more than likely that the Black Organisation would come after her again. She couldn't take that chance- better safe than sorry.

But Nakamori had insisted she come, even threatening the Mouri family with arrest for 'obstructing police investigation'.

"But I don't want to come!", Christie had wailed. "KID said he was going to get me! And I feel sick! Ran-neechan, I'm scared!"

Ran had picked Christie up and held her as she sniffled into her neck. Several of the taskforce officers had been looking accusingly at Nakamori. Even Kogorou had been regarding him with disgust.

Christie gave a small smile as she thought back to Nakamori's slightly ashamed and _very_ uncomfortable face. Being small _did_ occasionally have its uses...

But only occasionally.

Christie looked around the room with vague interest. Ran held her hand tightly, obviously trying to reassure her, but instead crushing her fingers together. Christie felt someone watching her and whipped her head around to regard a member of the taskforce, who let his gaze slide over her.

KID was sweating beneath his disguise. He had managed to look away from Christie naturally, instead of flinching away instinctively. It was incredible how fast she had managed to spot him. Perhaps it had been a mistake to invite her... No, the mistake probably lay with writing his heist message on her back. That might have been going a little too far.

He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye to find her still watching him, her head on one side. Slipping into the role of the man he was impersonating, he gave her a puzzled frown and made shooing motions with his hands.

Christie rolled her eyes and turned away. That idiot thief had forgotten to put his contact lenses in again.

_I would go after him_, she told herself, _but Ran is currently crushing my fingers. Even the slightest movement could cause them to become dislocated._

_Plus, I'd really like to see what KID has planned for Nakamori._

Christie thought back to what Nakamori had said just before they entered the building.

"Listen, kid", he snarled. "I don't care how scared or how ill you are, you go up to KID and amuse him. The heist said he wouldn't give the jewel back unless you amuse him, so you'd better be funny!"

Christie had smiled sweetly up at him. "Say one more word to me in that tone of voice, and I will shatter your eye sockets and feed you your own organs, you stupid, idiotic, useless excuse for a human being. You've never managed to get as near to KID as I have- hell you're barely on the same evolutionary scale as me. So don't talk to me like you're better than me, because, quite frankly, you're not."

The look on his face had been _priceless_.

She'd been having a bad day. The day where she'd snapped had finally arrived.

Ooh- whatever did KID have planned for Nakamori? She couldn't wait to find out!

KID nervously watched a wicked smiled spread over Christie's face, unaware that she was predicting Nakamori's fate. He glanced down at his watch.

It was time.

Christie saw the movement and counted down in her head. _3...2...1..._

The lights went off, plunging everyone into darkness. Ran gasped and her grip on Christie's hand loosened, allowing her to slip her hand out of Ran's grasp without her noticing. She took a couple of steps back so that she was cloaked in the deepest of shadows, and watched.

The lights flickered back on again. There was a collective gasp as the room saw what KID had done.

Christie gasped and choked back a laugh. _Don't let him see, _she begged herself._ Don't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he amused you.._

Nakamori and his men were all suspended from the ceiling by long, thick ropes. Their uniforms and combative gear had been replaced by elegant, flowing white robes. Each taskforce member had had their helmets removed, to be replaced by a headband with a wobbly halo, and a pair of glittery white butterfly wings, of the type that children dress in, had been attached to their backs. Nakamori had been done up especially, with a long blonde wig and a huge halo affixed to his head, and a spectacular pair of glittery gold wings attached to his back.

KID had gone easier on those left on the ground, by only slipping on headband with devil horns onto each person.

The prankster himself was perched on the display case that previously held Heaven's Light, holding said jewel up to the moonlight streaming in through the window and laughing merrily.

"Thought I'd go with the theme of Heaven and Hell for tonight", he explained to the room at large.

"KID!", Nakamori bellowed, thrashing at the ropes holding him and tearing at his wig, which didn't seem to want to come off. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF INVITING THE BRAT HERE?!"

Christie rolled her eyes and walked towards the door. She could predict how the exchange between Nakamori and KID would go. It would be better to just wait for KID at the rooftop.

As she walked out onto the roof, her phone rang.

KID grinned at Nakamori, unaware of Christie's departure. "The reason for that, my dear Nakamori-san, is because it's no fun with just you guys... tantei-chan is the only one who ever presents me with a challenge!" He sat back and watched Nakamori's blood pressure rise.

He looked towards where Christie had previously been standing, and felt suprise thud through him as he realized she was gone.

_She's probably waiting for me at the roof, _he deduced. He hoped she had stayed around long enough to see his prank on Nakamori- he knew seeing the inspector humiliated so would have cheered her up.

"Let me down, and we'll see who gives you a challenge!", Nakamori screamed, his face as red as a beetroot.

KID sighed and jumped down from the display case. It wasn't any fun, now he knew that tantei-chan was no longer there.

"As you wish, Nakamori-san", he said in a mocking tone of voice. He clicked his fingers and the ropes began to slowly lower their hostages to the ground. KID walked lazily through the hall. Several people made a grab for him, only for them to realize the soles of their shoes were glued to the ground.

By the time everybody was free, KID had already reached the rooftop.

* * *

KID entered the rooftop cautiously, aware that Christie could be lying in wait for him, hidden, with that tranquilizer watch of hers aimed at his head. He relaxed as he spied her exactly opposite him, on the far end of the rooftop. She was on her phone, not even watching for his arrival.

KID smiled and silently began to walk towards her. He could hear her voice clearly over the sound of the wind, probably because it was loud with exaltation.

"Are you serious, Haibara?", she said excitedly. "You think you've found the cure? So, it's definitely not the one I have now? Alright, I'll be over as soon as I can- I'm at a KID heist right now."

KID frowned as he eavesdropped shamelessly on Christie's conversation. She was speaking in the same way she spoke to him- she spoke normally, her voice no longer ear-shatteringly high with demented, childlike innocence.  
But what was this about a cure? And where was she planning to go after the heist?

KID smiled. It seems there was some detective-stalking for him to look forwards to.

Christie carried on with her conversation, blithely unaware of the thief behind her. "Oh, you saw the news then? Yes, he really did write the message on my back. Stupid thief." She paused, and when she next spoke, her tone was colder. "Alright, you can stop laughing now. Yes, I'll be over as soon as I can. Bye."

She snapped the phone closed and stared out across the rooftops. KID opened his mouth to talk, but paused as she spoke.

"So close", she whispered. "I'm so, so close." Then, she added. "Perhaps this time, Lady Luck, you could put aside some good fortune for me, instead of giving it all to that idiot thief. Surely I need it more than him?"

KID was startled at the sadness and longing in her voice. He watched as she slowly raised her head to regard the moon... then snapped her face around to look at him.

"How long have you been there?", she said, feeling panic grip her heart. How much had KID heard?

"Just got here", KID lied carefully, seeing the panic in her eyes. "Why?", he asked mockingly, "Did you do something naughty, tantei-chan?"

"Stupid thief", Christie snapped in response. "Forcing me to come here. And what was with that ridiculous heist note? It was complete and utter _crap!_ The worst one you've ever done."

KID's visible eye narrowed. "That's no language for a child, tantei-chan. And, for your information, I was in a hurry."

Christie opened her mouth to retaliate, then paused as a distant yelp echoed through the open door behind KID.

"Traps?", Christie asked KID, whose only response was a gleeful grin. "Then I take it that you still haven't given the jewel back?"

KID nodded and took Heaven's Light out. He held it up to the moonlight, this time for effect, watching it bathe his hand in a slight, silvery glow. Not the _exact_ colour glow he was looking for...

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Gorgeous", said Christie flatly, secretly marveling at its beauty. "Now, give it ba-" She stopped and gasped as a horrible feeling thumped through her body.

"Bit your tongue?", KID asked.

"No, I-" Again, she broke off as her whole body shuddered. She dropped to her knees.

"...Tantei-chan?"

"Ugh!", she gasped, and struggled to focus on her watch. It was 12:30. The very next day.

The antidote was working, just when she didn't want it to.

"Damn it, Haibara!" She tore her phone out of her pocket and rang Professor Agasa's house. Haibara wouldn't answer if she was too engrossed in something. "Pick up the phone!"

The burning started...

"Tantei-chan, what's happening?", KID said, shoving the jewel into his pocket and taking a step forwards.

"Stay away from me!", Christie screamed, causing him to stop. Her body began to shake violently, and she groaned in relief as Haibara answered the phone. "Haibara, the antidote's working, but I'm still at the heist!"

_"Get out of there!"_

"How?! If I turn back on the way out-"

_"You won't for another ten minutes or so. I told you it was slow acting, didn't I?"_

Christie blinked as her vision blurred. Her voice began to slur slightly, and her heart began to thump like it was trying to jump out of her body.

_Oh... it burns..._

"If people see me like this...", she gasped, "then they'll take... me to...the... hospi..." Her eyes rolled back and she slumped forwards.

KID ran towards her, turning her over onto her back. "Tantei-chan! Hey! Tantei-chan! Christie!" There was shouting from the phone and picked it up.

"What the hell is happening?", he demanded.

_"Who's this?"_

"Kaitou KID."

_"Oh."_

"What happened to Christie? Is she having a seizure?"

On the other end of the phone, Haibara frowned into the middle distance as she tried to think of an excuse. Professor Agasa hovered nearby anxiously.

_"She's...__ ill"_, Haibara said finally._ "Very ill."_

_("Why? Why aren't you coming?"_

_Christie glanced at the plaster on her arm. "I'm... ill.")_

KID stared at Christie's pale face in horror. She had been telling the truth? But she had had all the signs of a person lying!

"Has she been poisoned or something?", he blurted.

_"...What do you mean?"_

"I overheard a conversation about an antidote a few minutes ago... and she was saying something to you about an antidote before she collapsed. Has tantei-chan been poisoned?"

Haibara was silent for a few moments. _"It's not within my rights to tell you the whole story", _she said slowly,_ "but I can give you the abbreviated version of it. Some time ago, Christie got involved in something very, very bad. She was found out, and was poisoned as a result of it... but the poison didn't kill her. It did something else to her, something that we're now trying to reverse. What's happening to her now is one of our attempts to reverse it."_

"...And?"

_"And that's all I can tell you."_

KID considered arguing, then decided against it. "So, what shall I do now? Should I take Christie to the hospital?"

_"NO! Bring her here!"_

"And where is 'here', exactly?"

Haibara told him Professor Agasa's address. _"You'd better hurry"_, she advised him. _"She's only got seven minutes left."_

"What? Seven minutes left 'till what?!"

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE E-_

KID cursed and snapped the phone closed. He picked Christie up, cradling her protectively. She was shiny with sweat, and her breathing was labored.

Nakamori and his men, still in their angel getup, crashed onto the roof just as KID opened up his hanglider.

"KID! What're you doing with that child?!"

"Probably not what you're thinking of, Nakamori-keibu." He caught sight of Ran and Kogorou behind the taskforce and spoke directly to them. "Tantei-chan is sick. I'm taking her someplace safe."

He went to jump, then hesitated and took something out of his pocket. "Oh, and you can have this back. It isn't the jewel I desire."

He lobbed Heaven's Light at Nakamori, who fumbled it clumsily, and flew away.

* * *

So... here's Chapter 5 of Moonlight Magician! Whaddaya think?

KID's sort of just having heists every few nights without having worry about whether the moon can actually be out for three nights running... I haven't a clue of how the moon's cycles work, and I'm too lazy to look it up... So forgive me if you know how the moon works, and therefore know that it's impossible for KID to have a heist every few nights, or something '^.^

... And I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!

Please review! Criticism is okay too, just as long as I get told what I can do to improve. Thanks! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"…KID?"

KID looked down at Christie. She was staring at him, her eyes glazed.

"Where are... we going?"

"We're going to your friend's house." KID struggled to remember the name on the caller's ID on Christie's phone. In all the panic, he'd forgotten to ask. "You put her down as... the demon lady?"

Christie laughed weakly. "Yeah, Haibara."

"Well, I'm flying you over to her house."

"Oh." Christie glanced down at the space between them and the ground. "Don't... drop me, then."

"Oh? And what if I were to?", KID said, trying to keep up his Kaitou KID act. "... Christie?"

He looked down to see her unconscious again.

A few minutes later, KID landed inside the gates that surrounded a large house. He whistled in awe. It was huge! It was a mansion! It was-

KID glanced down at Christie worriedly. Was she _steaming?_

The door burst open and a large, round, elderly man hurried out. A small figure stood in the doorway behind him.

The elderly man thanked him and scooped the unconscious Christie out of KID's arms.

"Hurry!", the small figure barked from the doorway. KID recognized her voice as the same voice that had spoken so mysteriously to him over the phone. "She hasn't got much time!"

Left with no other options, KID hurried in after them.

The elderly man broke into a gallop and hurried through a door and down the staircase beyond it. KID went to follow him, but found his way barred by the small girl. She had short, brown hair, and a piercing, intelligent gaze.

_Just like Christie's eyes._

"You can't go any further than this", she stated.

"But-"

"No! If you're there, you might agitate her, and she'll become worse!" Haibara worded her sentence carefully, knowing how obstinate KID was. It was a wonder why Christie tolerated him- Ai would have handed him over to the police by now.

KID suddenly grinned, surprising her. "Naughty Haibara-chan!", he said. "Little kids must listen to their elders, right?" KID crouched down and poked her on the nose.

Haibara felt her temper snap. Moving so fast that KID barely registered it, she reached into the back pocket of her shorts, and brought out a gun. It was small, silver, and oddly futuristic.

"And yet everyone listens to the one holding the gun, right? Kaitou KID-niisan?", she asked menacingly, taking a leaf out of Christie's book.

KID stood up and took a step backwards. "H-hey, don't wave that around", he said nervously. Haibara watched in satisfaction as his poker face slipped. "You could hurt someone with that. Children aren't supposed to have guns..."

Haibara smirked. "Oh? And who says I'm really a child? I'm a damn sight smarter than you, in any case." She waved the gun again, and watched him take another step back. "I want Christie to be okay as much as you do. But she won't be okay if you're there, distracting her."

Even in the face of extreme danger, KID was still stubborn. "I can't just leave-"

"Oh for Christ sake", Haibara snapped. "Think about it like this: would _you_ feel comfortable with Christie seeing you at your weakest?"

With that, she stepped backwards onto the top stair of the staircase, and shut the door in his face. Then he heard the chink and click of many locks and bolts being put to the task of keeping him out.

KID hesitated as he reached into his pocket for the wire to pick the locks. Would _he_ be comfortable with Christie seeing him at his weakest?

_But she has nothing to hide!,_ he thought.

_Are you sure about that?,_ a second voice whispered at the back of his mind.

_("I'm not who anybody thinks I am.")_

He thought of Christie's face, contorted with pain and slick with sweat.

KID turned, reluctantly, and left the house. _Tomorrow,_ he vowed._ I'll see how she is tomorrow._

Behind the door, Haibara smiled in satisfaction as KID's footsteps faded, and pulled the trigger of the gun. A stream of water flew out and splashed into the opposite wall.

"Bang", she whispered, and stowed it away before descending the staircase.

* * *

"Is he gone?", croaked the blonde teenager as Haibara came down the stairs.

"Yes", said Haibara, walking up to the bed and taking her temperature. "But you should rest for now. You can't just leap up after every transformation like it's nothing."

Shinichi Kudo settled back down on Haibara's bed with a groan. She wiped sweat away from her brow and grinned at Haibara. "Aw, are you worried about me, Haibara-san?"

"Of course not", Haibara snapped. "I just can't risk losing my test subject." She paused and glared at Shinichi. "For Christ sake! Go put on some clothes that fit you!"

"Blasphemy", Shinichi muttered as she snatched Professor Agasa's old laboratory coat off the end of the bed and wrapped it around her. "Where did Agasa go? I was kinda distracted..."

"He went in the next room once you grew safely", Haibara assured her.

Shinichi nodded and settled back on the bed. "This transformation was worse than the others because it's the nearest to the antidote", she stated.

Haibara nodded. "It's close", she said. "I realized it during the heist, so I rang you. I should have the right one in a few weeks..."

Shinichi said bolt upright and winced. "A few weeks?!"

"At least."

Shinichi tried to quell the sudden excitement in her belly. It might be nothing, it might be a dead end. Don't allow yourself to hope...

"Oh, and the professor wants to upgrade your voice-changing necklace a little", Haibara added, clattering away at her computer. "He can do that while you're here."

Shinichi nodded and glanced down at said necklace- a small, ruby-red gem encased in a square mesh of silver wire. The front of the mesh allowed a clear look at the stone inside. The back had tiny buttons and dials, which was what allowed her to change her voice. Shinichi was quite fond of it.

"I must ask Agasa to make me a few gadgets for when I grow again", Shinichi said thoughtfully.

"I thought you would want to concentrate on your school work? You must have a lot to do."

"I do, and I never said I didn't. I just might need them for something..."

"Catching criminals? You appeared to have done quite well without them before. Or... is this about your endless chase with that elusive thief? Hmm?"

Shinichi shrugged. "Maybe."

"You don't think you'll be able to capture him before you go?"

"Quite honestly... no. I don't think anyone'll be able to catch him. I'll try as hard as I can as Christie Edogawa... and then pass the baton over to Shinichi Kudo."

"Why do you need gadgets for this?" Haibara was now giving Shinichi her full attention.

Shinichi grinned suddenly. "I can't become that idiot thief's new tantei-chan without a few awesome gadgets!"

"I wonder if you will ever work out how you feel about him...", Haibara mumbled.

"I don't feel anything about him", said Shinichi, whose hearing was superb. "Or at least, I hope not..."

"What about Ran?", asked Haibara, staring a little too intently at her computer screen.

"What about her?", Shinichi said uncomfortably.

"You must be aware of her feelings for you?"

Shinichi said nothing, and Haibara was aware that the conversation was now over.

"Get some rest", said Haibara, squinting at a long list of figures scrolling across the computer screen. "I suggest you don't go out until you've become Christie again. We don't want a repeat of last night."

"What about the Mouri's?"

"I'll get Agasa to ring Ran and say that KID dropped you off here once you've turned back. She can pick you up then."

Shinichi nodded and closed her eyes. The last few hours had begun to take their toll on her.

She slept, lulled by the constant pattering of Haibara's fingers against the computer keyboard.

* * *

_Brightly coloured birds flew around her, chirping, singing, calling to one another. Shinichi smiled up at this whirlwind of colour, feathers floating down around her. She held small, pudgy hands out, catching feathers and then flinging them up again._

_A hand fell on her shoulder, and Shinichi looked up into the smiling face of her mother._

_"You like them?", Yukiko asked, eliciting a nod from Shinichi. "Then come this way."_

_Yukiko led her away from the birds in the trees and into a nearby building, built just on the edge of the rain forest They entered, and Shinichi gasped._

_There were birds, yes, but they were subdued, silent, trapped in metal cages. Their bright colours seemed muted in the harsh light of the fluorescent lamps above them._

_"You want one?", Yukiko asked, still smiling. Shinichi stared at her. Couldn't she see how wrong this was?_

_Shinichi backed away in horror, shaking her head frantically. This wasn't right. This wasn't right _at all.

_The birds looked on silently as Shinichi began to cry._

* * *

I decided to keep the name Shinichi for Christie, since I read somewhere that it was (very occasionally) unisex.

Sorry to disappoint all of you out there who thought this was going to be the chapter where everything would be explained to KID- I fancied letting it go on a bit longer :)

Please review! Criticism is good too, since it can help me improve.

Thanks! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 6 of Moonlight Magician :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

KID watched from the shadows as Haibara and the rest of Christie's friends- the ones that called themselves the 'Detective Boys'- make their way to school. Christie herself wasn't among them, nor at the Mouri Detective Agency. He had wanted to check up on her before school, even just for a few seconds to assure himself that she was alright, but there wasn't any time to go to that professor's house, and his time was up.

* * *

At school, Kaito was briefly able to forget his worry about Christie by listening to everybody's excited conversations on KID and his most recent heists. Not only that, but someone had managed to film the entire heist, and had posted it on the internet, so everybody had been able to see KID's pranks. Apparently, these videos had been around for some time, but had only just been discovered online.

It seemed his prank on Nakamori had gone down well, but many of the girls in the class were of the opinion that his flaming violet butterflies still ranked top in the list of his greatest heists so far.

"It's such a romantic trick!", breathed a group of girls from behind him. "I wonder if there's someone KID wants to make fall for him!"

Kaito snorted. Someone he wanted to make fall for him? Hardly. It wasn't that there was someone he was trying to woo- he just wanted to astonish his little tantei-chan.

_Wait, what?"_

Kaito shook his head and blinked. Where had that thought come from? And when did tantei-chan become his?

Well, he knew _why_ he considered tantei-chan his. She was _his_ detective- the only person he knew that was able to find an explanation for his seemingly impossible magic tricks, and- Kaito grinned a little at this- foil his plans. For her to even _consider_ missing a heist, or choosing another thief to chase, made him feel irritated, and garnered revenge, usually in the guise of some playful prank.

Kaito sighed and stretched as the bell went. It was the end of the day. Finally.

But he couldn't leave yet. He had something he needed to ask Akako.

* * *

Kaito caught Akako just as she was about to leave the room, and pulled her aside. "Can I talk to you for a moment?", he asked, gazing at her seriously.

Akako smirked and waved away the pack of boys surrounding her. They backed away, glaring suspiciously at Kaito, who tried his best to ignore them. Akako grabbed his arm and led him into an empty classroom.

"I need to ask you something", he said quietly. "You're a... witch, right?"

"You want to ask me something about your little 'angel of justice'?", she said, quoting directly from his heist note.

"I- yes, how did you-?"

"Lucifer told me that you would ask me about her today", Akako declared, flicking a lock of hair over her shoulder. "What exactly is it that you want to ask?"

Kaito stared at her. "_Lucifer_ told you?"

"You wanted to ask me something?", she snapped impatiently.

Kaito shook himself. There was enough time to wonder about Akako's hobbies later. "Yeah. I was wondering if there was a spell that could, say, make someone steam?"

He thought back to last night. Christie, gasping in pain. Christie, fainting in front of him. Her body, shaking uncontrollably. _Steaming._ It definitely hadn't been his imagination, but he couldn't think of any normal illness that could do that to someone. The only other option he could think of was magic... _real_ magic.

Which led him straight to Akako. She was the only person he knew who was directly involved with magic.

Akako stared at him, startled by the unexpected question. "Make someone _steam_? Well... there's a spell that turns people's bones to molten lead... that would make them steam. Or you could raise their temperature so that it hurts them, but I don't know if that could make someone steam... Why do you ask?", she added suddenly, producing a grin. "Planning on using it in one of your heists? Visiting a sauna?"

Kaito shook his head, thinking back to the past night. Christie had seemed to be in terrible pain, but he doubted that her bones had been turned to lead. Wouldn't she be dead by now? But that Haibara kid had said that she had been given a poison, and _that_ was what was wrong with her. But poison couldn't make someone steam, couldn't it?

"What's this got to do with your little justice angel?", Akako continued.

Kaito shook his head and turned to go. "Nothing, nothing..." He paused as another idea popped into his head. "Has... um... Lucifer told you anything else about her?"

Akako smirked. "That information will cost you."

Kaito frowned at her warily. "What do you want for it?"

Akako giggled and whispered into his ear. Kaito sighed. "Fine. Now tell me."

Akako leant back. "Lucifer says that Christie Edogawa doesn't exist."

Kaito blinked at her. _"What?"_

"He says she doesn't exist. Christie Edogawa is just a mask covering the true person underneath. He said that soon, very soon, Christie will get something that she's been searching for for a long time, and will disappear forever-"

"What?! Disappear? When?"

"Do you want to hear the rest?"

Kaito nodded, pale.

"Apparently, when your little justice angel disappears, another one will come and take her place."

Kaito frowned. Nobody was capable of replacing tantei-chan. "Who?"

Akako shrugged. "Lucifer wasn't very specific. He just said that they were the same in every way."

Kaito thought back to the night before. He remembered what Haibara said over the phone, about Christie being poisoned, and about their search for the antidote. In his minds eye, he saw Christie standing on the rooftop, gazing up at the moon sadly.

_("So close", she whispered. "I'm so, so close.")_

Did this mean that Christie would find the antidote for the poison? Was that what Akako said she had been searching for? Did this mean that Christie would leave once she found the antidote? Or that the people who had poisoned her in the first place would come for her again?

He suddenly felt angry. What was a child like tantei-chan doing mixed up in something like that anyway? Why didn't her parents do anything about it? Kogorou didn't seem like the ideal father, but that Ran girl seemed to care for her. So why didn't they do anything about it? Christie obviously didn't have much luck when it came to family.

But what exactly had happened to tantei-chan? Haibara had said she'd been poisoned, but it hadn't killed her- so what _had_ it done to her? Kaito's mind wandered around and around in circles, desperately trying to understand the riddle he had no hope of realizing.

And the one question behind them all screamed into his mind constantly- who was Christie _really?_

There was one thing he was sure of- he wasn't about to let Christie disappear without an explanation.

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this", he muttered, turning to leave.

Akako tapped him on the shoulder. "_Ahem._ About my payment..."

Kaito paused and grimaced. Oh. Of course.

* * *

Akako gasped and arched her back. "Push harder."

"Like this?"

"Ouch! No, you dimwit! Lower... aah! That's it. Now, push harder. Harder!"

Kaito sighed and applied more strength into the neck massage he was giving Akako.

"Stop squirming!", he said, trying to hold her still. "I can't give you a massage if you keep squirming like that!"

"Push harder then! I'm not letting you go until my neck loosens up!"

Kaito grunted as he pushed all of his weight through his arms and onto Akako's neck. This was going to take a while.

By the time he got to the Professor's house, Christie had gone home. He hadn't had much hope that she would still be there- it was dark by the time Akako had let him go. KID went to the Mouri Detective Agency and watched her sleeping for a while. She had a light fever, and had been told to stay in bed for the next few days, but, other than that, she was perfectly fine. KID considered stalking her for a while, but then decided against it. The encounter with Haibara had freaked him out a little, and he didn't think he could handle it if Christie pulled a gun out on him too.

Kaitou KID, reassured of his tantei-chan's physical health, went home.

* * *

_Shinichi looked around. She was in a familiar room with white walls and bright fluorescent lights. Bird cages lined the walls, stacked on top of each other, hanging from the ceiling. She was in the bird house._

_Shinichi ran around the room, unlocking as many cages as she could. The birds inside fluttered out and waited for the release of their comrades. Finally, there was only one more bird to set free- a snow white dove with violet eyes, watching her sadly from inside an intricate metal cage. It was hanging from the ceiling, and was much higher than the others._

_Shinichi reached up to unlock it and realized in horror that she was too small. She tried to drag empty cages across the floor to climb up, but they were welded to the ground._

_If only she were stronger! If only she were taller! She would've been able to reach the dove if she had her old body..._

_"Please", she whispered, straining to reach the cage, "I just want you to be free..."_

* * *

Christie's eyes snapped open as she woke up with a start. Kogorou was snoring enthusiastically in the next bed over. Christie stared unseeingly at the ceiling above her, then, deciding that there was no chance of getting anymore sleep that night, got up and wandered into the kitchen. She made herself a mug of hot chocolate and brought out a book to read.

She allowed her mind to wander, and her thoughts immediately gravitated towards Kaitou KID. They had been doing that for a while now, ever since that night on the rooftop.  
It had been a few weeks since KID's last heist, and he still hadn't shown up, demanding an explanation. The long silence was making her more nervous than an assured appearance. She wished he would get it over with- because she _knew_ that KID would want an explanation, and soon. He seemed to be curious about everything he didn't know, and demanded information without ever returning the favor.  
But not this time. Christie was determined that, if KID wanted an explanation about what had happened, he would have to return the favor in full.

If he ever showed up, of course.

Christie took a sip of hot chocolate and sighed.

She became aware of someone behind her just as they spoke.

"It's four in the morning, tantei-chan. What're you doing awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing, KID", she said levelly, trying to ignore the little flower of relief (and... happiness?) that unfurled in her belly. It was only that idiot thief, no need to feel that glad...

"Ah, but, unlike you, tantei-chan, I am not a child."

"You sure act like one", Christie said, refusing to look up from her book.

"_You_ act like an adult."

"I act like an adult, and you act like a child", she said, turning a page of her book. "It all evens out in the end."

KID laughed and moved into her line of sight, perching onto the edge of the table. In her minds eye, she saw a small white dove with violet eyes. She blinked, and the image disappeared.

"Hot chocolate?", KID asked, catching sight of the mug. "And", he squinted at the book, "Sherlock Holmes? Figures. Why don't you read something that_ isn't_ a mystery?"

"Everybody asks me that", Christie mumbled, bringing the book up to hide her face.

KID frowned at where her face would have been if there wasn't a book covering it and took a sneaky gulp of her hot chocolate. Then spat it out again.

"Eurgh!"

"Serves you right."

"What is that stuff? That can't be hot chocolate!"

"It's bitter", Christie explained, lowering her book. All the better to see his revolted expression. "I told you, I'm not into sweet stuff." She went to take a sip, then thought better of it.

KID swallowed a couple of times, then wiped his tongue on his sleeve. He could see Christie grinning out of the corner of his eye.

"Why aren't you trying to catch me yet, tantei-chan?", he asked, trying to change the subject, and also curious to see what her answer would be.

Christie shrugged. "I haven't any weapons on me at the moment, and you could easily knock me out before I could even attempt to get to them. Besides, I figured I could let you off for tonight."

KID blinked at her. "How comes?"

"Because you got me out of the last heist when I was ill. I owe you, KID, and this is my way of returning the favour."

KID's eyes narrowed at the mention of the previous night. "What exactly _is_ wrong with you?"

Christie's face became a smooth, impeccable mask. She could lie and tell him it was only a harmless illness... but he had seen how serious it had been the night before, and there was no way he would swallow a lie like that.

"I... can't tell you what's wrong with me. Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

KID grinned at her. "Try me. You'd be surprised at what I'd believe."

Christie shook her head with a slight smile. "No, you definitely wouldn't. But don't worry about. I should be better soon._ Very_ soon."

KID watched a grin unconsciously form on Christie's face as she turned back to her book. He thought back to what Akako had said.

"Tantei-chan... who are you really?" _Tell me- I don't want you to disappear!_, he begged internally.

Christie shook her head. "What makes you think I'm someone else?"

"You told me yourslef. Now, tell me."

Christie grinned. Teasing KID was fun! Although he did seem a bit worried..."You first."

"Tantei-chan... tell me who you are, or..."

The grin widened. "Seriousness doesn't suit you, KID."

KID stood up. "Christie, this is not a game!"

_It is. It's a game to see who will crack first,_ a voice whispered at the back of her mind.

_This is going too far. He's meddling too much. If you don't stop him soon..._

_But he's too stubborn. He's convinced that there's something important I know, and he won't let it go._

_So... I'll just have to make him see things from my point of view._

Christie turned suddenly and grabbed a hold of KID's sleeve.

"KID", she said urgently, "you've _got_ to tell me your true identity!"

"Wha-"

"It's a matter of life and death! You've got to tell me! Now!" Christie raised her voice and widened her eyes.

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"Because if I tell you, you'll be put in danger!", he blurted.

Christie let go of KID's arm and carefully marked the page number of her book. "There you go then", she said, her voice calm once again. "If I were to tell you anymore about me, you would be put in danger. Surely you understand that it is pointless to question me? You won't tell me your identity because it'll put me in danger- and vice versa." She turned and stared at him pleadingly. "_Please_ understand."

KID stared at her, then sat back down onto the edge of the table. "You're too logical for your own good", he mumbled.

Christie snorted. "No. You mean that I'm too logical for your liking."

"Can I help being curious?"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

KID rolled his eyes. "I'm not a cat."

"You know what I mean. And you can quit trying to distract me, KID."

"W-whatever do you mean?"

"Would my life really be in danger if I were to find out your real identity?"

KID silently cursed his big mouth. "Yes", he said reluctantly.

"Is it to do with what you're searching for?"

KID twitched, and Christie's eyes sharpened at the movement.

"Who says I'm searching for anything?"

"It stands to reason that you're searching for something. You take jewels, only to return them later. You always look disappointed after a heist, like you didn't manage to steal the jewel at all. Also, every single heist is done on the night of a full moon. At first, I thought it was done for effect, but I've noticed that you always hold your stolen items up to the moonlight. So, I'm guessing that you are looking for a jewel that reacts in some way when held up to the moon...?"

KID stared at her. _This kid..._

Christie grinned. "I'm right, aren't I?"

KID grinned back at her. "No comment."

"Why on earth do you want a jewel like that, KID?"

"No comment", KID insisted.

"If I were to find out your identity, my life would be in danger... and you're searching for a specific jewel... my life would be in danger...", Christie mumbled, staring off into the middle distance. KID watched her anxiously, wondering if he should just gas her before she got any further.

Then he silently berated himself for thinking such a thing. No matter how smart she was, Christie was still a child- it was impossible for her to come to the exact right conclusion.

Besides, the truth was just too fantastical.

Christie's eyes narrowed. If her life would be in danger if she were ever to find out KID's identity, it would probably mean that he was either working for someone dangerous, or was being hunted by someone dangerous.

If he were working for someone dangerous, then she would be in danger if she knew his identity- it would compromise his quest to find whatever he was looking for if the truth ever got out.

If he were being hunted by someone dangerous, then knowing his identity would also put her in danger, as whoever was hunting him would probably want to know who he really was very much- most likely to catch him unawares, when not in his KID disguise.

The most plausible explanation was that was KID working for someone to get that particular jewel- that would explain his accomplices. But who was he working for and why?

Could it be...?

KID became aware that Christie was staring at him strangely.

"What?"

"You.. are you..." Christie shrugged and gave a mental shrug. Hell, might as well just say it. "Are you working with an... organisation, KID?"

_A specific BLACK Organisation?_, she added mentally.

_What?, _KID thought. Could she possibly be talking about Snake? But then how did she know about them? "What type of organisation, tantei-chan?", he said.

Christie hesitated. "...Black", she managed. "Black, like ravens."

KID's eyes widened. He leaned forwards and grabbed Christie's arm, trying to ignore the way she tried to flinch away. "How do you know about them?"

"Are you working for them?", Christie repeated, her gaze boring into his. _Please say no, please say no, please please please..._

"Work for Snake?! I would never!"

Snake? Christie frowned. She didn't know about this Snake, but... "So you don't work for _any_ organisation?", she asked, trying to make it clear.

"No! Kaitou KID works alone! Well, apart from the odd accomplice..."

Christie moved suddenly, yanking her arm out of his grip, standing up on her chair and taking KID's face in her hands. She stared into his visible eye with an intent expression, as KID stood there dumbly, too startled to move.

"... I believe you", she said finally, letting go of him and sitting back down. She felt a blush coming and controlled it fiercely.

"What do you know about Snake?", KID said , but with less impact than before.

"Nothing", Christie said honestly, safe in the knowledge that KID wasn't a part of the Black Organisation- unless he could somehow control the dilation of his pupils and the rate of his pulse.

"Tantei-chan, this is important! Don't lie to me!"

Christie gave an apologetic smile. "I don't know anything about Snake, KID. I've never heard of them before in my life."

_But I can guarantee that they'll be the next to go after I take down the Black Organisation,_ she vowed silently.

She had been right- seriousness didn't suit KID at all, and seeing KID in a panic made her angry. People like KID were like those exotic birds in her dream- they had so much colour, character, gracefulness, but still people insisted on trapping them in cages of fear and worry, trying to tame and tether down what made them different. Because they didn't understand it. Because they hated them, those little blobs of colour in a world of shades of grey.

And Christie saw a little white dove with violet eyes, gazing out at her from the metal mesh entrapping it.

She blinked. _Could it be...?_

Christie tuned back in as KID spoke again.

"But you described their uniform! Black, like ravens-"

"I just said the shadiest thing I could think of", Christie interrupted smoothly, "and you fell for it. Thanks for the extra information, KID-niichan!" She said the last part in her mock-childish voice.

Well, fair was fair. He had been given information about her... and she had been given information about him.

KID stared hard at her. She had all the signs of a person lying, but he hadn't had much faith in his ability to spot lies ever since that night on the roof...

Christie had said she was ill, and KID had not believed her, forcing her to come to his heist anyway...

Christie's grimace of pain filled his vision for a moment, and he shuddered and forced the image away.

He instead pouted and sat back down on the table.

"Are you schizophrenic?", he asked, "Or did a meteor fall out of the sky and hit you on the head?"

Christie deadpanned. "Says the guy who dresses up as Arsene Lupin and throws himself off of skyscrapers."

"...Touche."

"Is Snake really a threat to you?", Christie asked softly.

"Sort of", KID shrugged. "They've made attempts on my life, but it seems that Lady Luck favors me..."

"Hmm..."

KID looked at Christie, who was staring at the table top without really seeing it. She held her chin in one hand, and KID recognized the expression on her face.

"You're not to go after them", he said. "Don't even think about it. Don't even look up their name. You have no idea of the danger you'll be put into!"

Christie blinked and looked up at him. "Actually, KID, _I_ don't intend to go after them at all. And I know about the danger I'll be put into."

_Mere child's play compared to the Black Organisation, seeing as you're not dead yet_. If Snake were worse than the Black Organisation, KID would be long dead.

KID stared at her. "Promise me. Give me your word that you won't go after them." He stared at her seriously, poker face forgotten.

Christie gave KID a mocking look and placed her hand over her heart. "I, Christie Edogawa, do solemnly swear that I won't go after or attempt to find out anything about the organisation called Snake." She allowed the grin that had been growing inside to spread over her face.

"What're you grinning about?", KID asked warily.

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

_What the hell._ "You've left me a loophole", she whispered teasingly.

KID thought hard. "You're not to contact them either."

Christie laughed aloud. "There's still a loophole!"

KID stared at her. He'd never seen her in such high spirits- she was usually so serious. "You're not to have anything to do with them!"

Christie placed a hand over her mouth, hiding her grin. "You can give up. You'll never get it. And", she added, "It's time for you to go."

"Oh? And how do you figure that?", KID said waspishly, still trying to figure out what Christie had meant.

Christie pointed at the window. The sun was beginning to rise, staining the sky pink and red. Faint stars still glimmered in the lightening sky.

"The moon went down, the sun came up", Christie murmured. "It's time for the Magician Under the Moonlight to disappear."

KID cracked a smile at the use of one of his many nicknames. "Very poetic. I must use that in one of heist notes sometime."

"Bye bye, KID."

Christie didn't look away from the window, and KID understood that she was giving him an opportunity to disappear mysteriously. He smiled.

"Until next time, tantei-chan."

There was a swish of fabric, then nothing. When Christie turned around, the only evidence that he had ever been there was a single white rose resting on the table, and the absence of a mug of regurgitated hot chocolate.

Christie smiled and took the rose back to bed with her. She stared at it as the room gradually lightened.

"KID", she said quietly, mindful of the sleeping Kogorou, "when I promised not to have anything to do with Snake, I promised as Christie Edogawa... but I didn't say anything about Shinichi Kudo."

She grinned.

_Snake had better watch out..._

* * *

Sorry this chapter took so long! I hope the quality makes up for the wait :)

Please review! Don't be afraid to say what you think... within reason... as I can use it to improve on the next chapter :)

I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 7 of Moonlight Magician!

P.S: Teasing KID was fun! XD


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

In her room beneath Professor Agasa's house, Haibara Ai sat back in her chair and wiped her arm across her forehead. It was complete. She had finally found the antidote.

She glanced at a cage on her desk- it housed two small mice, one male, one female. They were both shivering at the after-affects of the antidote she had just tested on them.  
Haibara sighed and opened up the cage. She wasn't overly fond of trying out cures on animals, but there didn't seem to be any other thorough way of seeing if the antidote would work.

Never mind. She had found a permanent cure to APTX 4869, and could now let them go.

Haibara watched the mice disappear through a hole in the corner of the room. She'd done it. She had finally found it.

Now, all she had to do was tell Christie.

* * *

Christie grimaced and squirmed as Ran wiped around her mouth with a napkin. They were at a high-class restaurant, celebrating Sonoko's eighteenth birthday. Sonoko, drunk with goodwill and celebration, had invited Christie along when it had been revealed that she would be home alone that night (Kogorou had a meeting with a client).

Now, she seemed to be regretting it.

"Stop fussing over that brat, and focus on enjoying yourself", she objected, glaring at Christie like it was her fault.

Christie glared back at her. _You think I _enjoy_ having my face wiped by a saliva-sodden paper napkin?  
_Although there once was a time where she would have enjoyed it, at least when Ran was involved...

Christie sighed sadly. Things were changing, in ways she didn't like. But there wasn't much she could do about it.

She shifted uncomfortably on her seat. When Ran had heard that they were going to such an expensive restaurant, she had forced Christie to leave her tranquilizer watch, kick-enhancing shoes, and soccer ball-producing belt back at the agency, and forced her into an uncomfortable dress instead. Christie felt naked without them.

After they had eaten their fill, they went back to the detective agency.

"Are you sure your dad won't mind?", Sonoko asked, as she stepped over the threshold. Not that she cared- she just didn't want to share her birthday with the old man.

"The meeting with his client is really far away, so he'll have to stay in a hotel and come back tomorrow", Ran assured her.

"Great!", Sonoko cheered. "That means we can let loose!"

Christie blanched and began to edge towards the door. Sonoko, letting loose?! "L-let loose?"

"Scary movies and fattening snacks!"

_Oh, thank God._

"Sorry to disappoint you", Ran said apologetically, "but we're a bit low on those fattening snacks you mentioned..."

"That won't do! I demand a sugar rush!" Sonoko's beady blue eyes rested on Christie and narrowed. Christie groaned internally. She knew what was coming. "Brat! Go to the newsagents and get us some snacks!"

"But-"

"No buts! You're a freeloader, so you might as well do something for a change."

_And how does my staying here effect you?!_

"Sonoko, it's dark outside!", Ran protested.

"So? She's a big girl now. She can look after herself just fine..._ can't you?" _Sonoko turned and stared at Christie threateningly.

Christie nodded frantically. "Yes!" _I'll do anything! Just get me away from her! I'll crawl!_

* * *

Christie muttered to herself as she shoved a few multi-packs of crisps into the shopping basket she was carrying. She would've much preferred it if she had been allowed to stay holed up in her room with a couple of dozen books and a mug of black coffee, instead of a brightly lit newsagents, being watched suspiciously by the shop owner. It was cold too, and she'd forgotten her coat in her hurry to get away from Sonoko's mad stare.

Oh well. At least she hadn't been made to pay with her own money.

Christie paused on her way to the counter to pick up a few things that she knew that Sonoko didn't like. Petty, maybe, but definitely satisfying.

She paid for the snacks and left the shop. As she walked, she became aware of an odd feeling in her gut. A prickling feeling on the back of her neck.

Someone was watching her.

Christie's footsteps faltered, then picked up again. No need to let her watchers know she had noticed them. As she walked, she thought through all the people who could be watching her.

_Kaitou KID_, her mind thought immediately. She hadn't seen him for a few days now, and wouldn't put it past him to stalk to her. But... somehow, the gaze assured her it wasn't him.

_Hmm, lets see... Hattori Heiji would probably do that to freak me out... but wouldn't he have shown himself by now? Mum and dad? But they're too lazy to follow me when they could just call me out themselves..._

And nobody Christie knew had such an air of malevolence... such a violent stare...

_There's a certain group of people you haven't thought of yet..._, a voice whispered at the back of her mind.

Christie began to walk past a closed shop and stared hard at the glass front, which acted as a mirror in the darkness. As she walked, her ears picked up a small, barely-noticed sound- the quiet purr of a car engine.

The shop front showed her, pale-faced and grim, and behind her, a black van slowly inching its way towards her. The windows were blacked out, and she couldn't see the drivers, but something in her head pinged as she saw it.

Her mind went blank with horror. It was _them_. The Black Organisation. They had come for her.  
This was no misleading prank by KID. This was real.

Christie stumbled in shock, then began to run. The bag of snacks dropped from her numb fingers. She ran past the shops, past the detective agency, desperate to escape, terrified of endangering anybody.

_Stop!_, the voice at the back screamed. _They'll know you're aware of them! They'll catch you! Stop running!_

Christie realized in horror that the sound of the van's engine had gotten louder, closer. They had abandoned all pretenses and had begun to chase her.

They were gaining on her.

_No! Not now! Not when I'm so close!_

Christie pounded along the pavement, then ducked into an alleyway. She heard the van screech to halt, and the sounds of people getting out. They continued the chase on foot.

Christie lost herself in a maze of alleyways. One of the men had a gun, and a shot clipped her on the cheek as she tipped over a dustbin to slow them down.

_No watch, no shoes, no belt. Me and Ran are going to have a talk- if I live to see her again._

The chase seemed to go on for hours, and Christie was sure it would never end. She ran on, tripped, stumbled, fell. She crawled behind a couple of trashcans and sat there, shivering.

She was cold, tired, and scared. She had no strength to go on, and no way to call for help.

She curled up into a ball and clutched her hair. Why now? When she was so close to regaining her old body, they had to show up now!

She heard footsteps drawing closer and curled up tighter. At least she hadn't managed to endanger anyone. At least she could die knowing that her loved ones were safe.

Images began to flash through her mind. Yukiko, Yusako, Ran, Heiji, Kasuka, Agasa, Haibara... they kept on coming, faster and faster.

The footsteps paused just by her hiding place, and one last image flashed through her mind. A boy, with mischievous violet eyes and dark, messy hair. He had a huge, annoying, warm grin, and was dressed as Arsene Lupin.

"Kaitou KID", Christie whispered sadly. "I wanted to be able to say goodbye."

"Nice dress, tantei-chan!", a voice said cheerily. A pair of white loafers came into view.

Christie stared. Was she hallucinating?

The alleyway exploded with blue smoke.

* * *

KID grinned at the two men before him as the smoke cleared. They were both dressed from head to toe in black.

"What're Snake doing chasing a child like this?", he demanded.

"Snake?", said one of the men.

"Yeah, Snake. Don't tell me you don't even know who you're working for?"

"Who is this clown?", muttered one of the men.

"Who cares? Gin just said to get the kid."

The two men took out their guns and began to fire at KID, who waved his arm lazily. Smoke filled the alleyway again, and by the time it had cleared, both KID and Christie had disappeared.

* * *

KID set Christie down and began to check his mantle for bullet holes.

"Tantei-chan?", he said after a moment, "Who were those men?"

"Oh?", said Christie innocently, "weren't they Snake? You said they were Snake."

"Christie?"

Christie tensed. KID had used her name, instead of his nickname for her. People always did that when they were going to be serious. "Yes?"

"You do realize we're on a rooftop?" He continued to inspect his mantle.

"Yes."

"With no way down?"

Christie glanced at the barred door behind them. "Yes."

"Which means I can keep you up here as long as I like until you tell me the truth?"

"No."

KID turned and raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"No. I thought we've been through this before?"

"...I just need to know who those people were."

"Why? So you can kill yourself trying to protect me? So you can find out more about me? I've always known you were a little kooky, KID... but not stupid."

KID blinked at her. "Tan-"

"I love your heists", Christie said suddenly. "It's the one place I can ever really be myself. I can think freely, without limits. I can act act my mental age, not my physical age. You don't treat me like a child during heists either... well, not all the time. And I like you too. You're stupid and irritating, and you never shut the hell up... it's kinda refreshing. But if you carry on asking me questions, and demanding explanations, then I'll stop coming to your heists. I'll break all contact with you. You were right, the other night- I am someone else. And I'll do all I can to prevent anyone from finding me... the real me. You have a brain, KID- use it. If you want to know who I am, work it out for yourself, but don't expect me to just tell you."

KID stared hard at her. "You're hiding from someone, right? So, if they were to stop being a threat to you, you wouldn't have to hide anymore?"

Christie shook her head and smiled. "Correct... but you reached that conclusion a little too late. I intend to leave soon- very soon. And, even if you were to stop those people from being a threat, I would still disappear. Pretty soon, Christie Edogawa will no longer exist, so it's better for you if you were to just give up now."

"And you want this? You want to disappear?" KID couldn't think of anything worse.

"With all my heart", Christie said, with a small trace of sarcasm. Phrases like that had always irritated her, but now she found herself saying one.

"When are you leaving?"

Christie shrugged. "Soon, is all I know." She glanced sideways at him. "Why?"

KID flicked a card at her. She caught it. It was one of KID's heist notes, and she solved the riddle in a matter of seconds.

"A leaving party, for my little tantei-chan", KID said. "I'll have to make it extra special."

"Aw, you shouldn't have", Christie grinned, flicking the card back at him. "I'll be there."

"It's a date", KID grinned, stowing the card away.

Christie's heart jumped at the words, then began beating extra loud. _Shutupshutupshutup._

Christie started as she remembered something she had meant to tell him. "Oh... I think I've figured out what you're after."

"Oh? And what's that then?"

Christie looked around. "Come down, I'll whisper it to you."

KID crouched beside her and she cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Is it Pandora?", she whispered.

KID was silent for a moment. "Yes." How had she figured it out?

"Are you looking for it because you want immortality?"

KID went to pull away, but she held onto his ear. "No. I want to destroy it."

Christie's eyes widened. She'd thought he wanted to use it... "You can't do that!"

This time, KID succeeded in pulling away. "How comes?"

She motioned him down again. "It's very well protected", she said, avoiding his question. "You'll never be able to find it."

"How do you know about it anyway?"

"I'm good at researching things... or at least better than you. For instance, I've heard legends that say that Pandora has consciousnesses. Thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams. That why it's capable of _crying tears._"

KID blinked. "Consciousness?"

"Yes. Toichi felt sorry for it... that's why he decided to hide it."

"He hid it... do you know whe-" KID froze. "Hold on... how do you know the last KID's identity?"

He felt Christie's smile against his ear. "Here's another hint for you: because I knew him!"

KID froze in place, and Christie took a tight grip on his collar. She'd probably said too much. But if she was going to disappear anyway, there wasn't any need for her to keep_ everything_ a secret anymore.

Pretty soon, Christie Edogawa would disappear. And once that had happened, she and KID would never meet again. Well, not as she was now...

Might as well make herself as memorable as possible.

"How could you possibly have known-?", KID breathed.

"I have one more question for you", Christie interrupted. "You know that heist, where you tasered me to get to the jewel?"

"...Yeah?"

"Is this that taser?"

KID felt something press against his chest. He tried to move away, but was held still by the tight grip Christie had on his collar. There was a small zapping sound.

Christie stepped back as KID fell backwards. "Out like a light", she said, and blew on the taser. Pick pocketing KID had been astonishingly easy. She felt a bit bad about it, but had never really got over the tasering incident. Plus, she knew from experience that it wasn't as bad as it looked.

_He'll live._

Christie went through KID's pockets, unearthing several items- a few differently-coloured smoke bombs, a windup toy soldier, and his card gun, all of which she pocketed- before she found what she was looking for: a mobile phone. She called Professor Agasa to pick her up outside the building.

She looked down at him. His top hat had been knocked askew, his monocle lying on the ground beside him. Christie hesitated, her hand hovering over him. Should she have a peek...?

No, she answered herself. I'll figure it out on my own.

She reached forwards and rammed the hat down on his head, titling it so that the shadows hid his face. Then, giving in to temptation, her hand snaked out and lifted the monocle from the floor. She tried it on and grinned.

_I'm not stealing,_ she told herself, as she used KID's card gun to break the bar sealing the door. _I'm just... borrowing._

* * *

Christie exited the building just as Professor Agasa's bright yellow car arrived. The window nearest to her rolled down, and an irate Haibara leaned out.

"There'd better be a good reason why you called us all the way-" She paused. "Isn't that KID's monocle?"

"Yes", said Christie, grinning broadly. "Actually, I have a little something for you too." She pulled out KID's card gun and let it swing from her index finger.

Haibara's eyes widened. "That's-"

"KID's card gun. You can have it when you find the antidote."

Haibara grinned and stuck her arms out of the open window. "In that case, give it to me now."

Christie blinked at her. "You've found the antidote?", she gasped.

"Uh huh." Haibara snatched the gun greedily from Christie as she got into the car.

"A-Ai-san, please be careful with that", Agasa said nervously as he began to drive.

"Yeah", said Christie, "I need to return it later."

Haibara shrugged. "Fine by me. Just give me a few days with it..." She looked at Christie sideways. "Did you take anything else?"

"Yes, but they're for Agasa, not you."

"For me?", Agasa said, his eyes lighting up .

"Yeah, a few smoke bombs and such. I wondering if you could find out how they work and make me some...?"

"I've been wanting to get my hands on those for months", the Professor enthused. The car almost combusted from the enthusiastic light shining from his eyes.

Haibara looked up from trying to dismantle the gun to stare at Christie. "That's gonna need stitches, you know."

Christie looked bewildered. "What will?"

"That cut on your cheek. It's pretty deep- how did you get it?"

Christie touched the cut caused by the bullet grazing her earlier that evening. The events of the past half-hour came back to her in a rush. How could she have forgotten?

"Yeah... actually, I have something I need to tell you..."

Once Christie had finished, there was silence in the car. Haibara was staring wide-eyed at Christie.

"We'll have to hide you", she said quietly. "As soon as possible."

"I know."

"We won't be able to use the antidote for a while", Haibara continued. "Not when they know both of your identities."

"What should we do?"

Haibara thought for a moment. "The best thing to do would be to let you walk around for a few days, while keeping in company, to assure the Black Organisation that you don't know who it was who was chasing you. Then, we make up some story, like your parents want you back, and keep you hidden for a few days. With any luck, we can have you take the antidote and travel away. You can tell Ran you're on some case."

Christie thought about this. "But then I'd have to leave until someone takes them down. It could take years, and I'd have to pretend I don't exist all the way."

"It's the only alternative I can think of, apart from just sitting back and allowing them to kill you. And I'm only not doing that in case it leads them to me."

"You're wrong. There is another alternative."

"Oh?", said Haibara archly. "Do tell."

"You allow me to take the antidote and transform, and just... simply let them come to us."

Haibara blinked at her. "_What?_"

"Listen", Christie said, leaning forwards, "as Christie Edogawa, I have the FBI on my side. And, as Shinichi Kudo, I have the police force on my side. If we allow the Black Organisation to catch wind that I'm still alive, they will naturally come to finish me off. We can track them, hunt them down. We can capture the people sent after me and use them to get to the Black Organisation's base. We could allow them to think the rumor was just... a rumor. Then, with both the FBI and the police force, it will be a piece of cake to find out where they are based."

"...That's very dangerous."

Christie smiled at her. "I know. But, it would have to be to take down the Black Organsiation, right?"

Haibara narrowed her eyes. "You're sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"You might get caught up in it. People might die. Are you willing for that to happen?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm willing or not. Because, one day, this will happen anyway. It's better it happen now, rather than later, because who knows how many innocent people will have died by then? How many lives the Black Organisation will have destroyed?"

Haibara eyeballed her for a few seconds. "I'll think about it", she said finally. "It's ridiculous... and a stupid plan... but..."

Christie grinned at her. "It just might work?"

Haibara cracked a smile. "Something like that."

* * *

Christie yawned and snuggled into her duvet. She was back at the detective agency, and in her pajamas, listening to Ran and Sonoko whispering and giggling in the living room. Sonoko had originally wanted to sleep in Ran's room, but had decided against it when she saw how small it was. Not even Christie with her child-sized body had been able to sleep in there, and therefore had to share a room with Kogorou. It was alright, as long as she made sure the door was locked on the other whenever either of them were dressing.

Christie scratched at her cheek, then winced. Professor Agasa had driven her back to the agency with the story that Christie had been attacked by a homeless man. She had then been driven to the hospital to have stitches in her cheek, which now felt like it was full of knives.

Christie thought back to that evening. She had had a lucky escape- if KID hadn't shown up when he did...

Ah, KID. Another problem. Maybe she'd said too much about Pandora? But wasn't it natural to want to help him? Especially when she'd seen the desperation in his eyes...

Especially seeing how much she... liked him.

_There! I said it!_

No matter what, though, he couldn't ever have it. Not if he wanted to destroy it.

Because she had been given a task, a mission, to protect Pandora at all costs... given a mission by Toichi himself. Not specifically to her, but first to her parents, then handed down to her when they found that nobody would ever suspect a child of holding the jewel of immortality...

Christie fished the voice-changing necklace out from beneath her pajama top and smiled at it. A ruby-red jewel, hanging suspended in a square mesh of wire...

_Pandora's box..._

She held it up to the moonlight streaming in through the window, and it bathed the room in a red glow.

"We had a lucky escape, huh?", she said, grinning at it. She could feel it's consciousness stirring, consciousness that had been lying dormant since the death of Toichi Kuroba... "...Pandora."

* * *

In case there's a few of you who don't know, Toichi was the KID before Kaito, and was killed by Snake eight years previously in the story line because they wanted Pandora. Pandora is a red jewel hidden inside another jewel, said to cry tears of immortality when held up to the moonlight as the comet Volley passes (and it only passes every 10,000 years).

Also, Shinichi's father knew Toichi Kuroba (but not as Toichi, as KID), and chased him like Shinichi now chases KID.

Er... I think that's it. Please review, and thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 8 of Moonlight Magician! :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Yusaku! Yusaku-kun!"

A nine year old Shinichi looked up at the distant yell. She was seated with with her mother and father in the library, working through some homework.

Her father, Yusaku, frowned and stood up "That voice", he murmured. "It can't be..."

Shinichi gaped as Kaitou KID himself staggered through the door. His normally pristine white suit was tattered and torn. His right arm was stained with red. Yukiko stared at it for a moment, then got up and hurried out of the room.

"KID?!", Yusaku exclaimed. He strode forwards and pushed KID into his vacated chair. "What happened to your arm? And what is that you're holding?"

Kaitou KID held up a brilliant red jewel. "Pandora", he said weakly. "The jewel of immortality. I'm begging you, please hide it."

Shinichi stared at the jewel. Pandora, the jewel of immortality. She vaguely remembered her father telling her stories about it when she was little. It was hard to believe that this was the real thing.

Yukiko returned to the room, holding a first aid kit. "Who shot you?", she asked, cutting open the sleeve of his suit to get to the wound. It was unmistakably a gun shot wound.

"Snake. I needed to get the jewel away from them before they could hurt it."

Shinichi walked up to the thief, who smiled at her weakly. "Hey there, kid."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Hey there, KID."

KID shook his head. "Still a smart-ass, I see."

"Still a reckless fool." She watched as Yukiko prodded his arm, feeling out the damage.

"Is that any way to talk to your elder?"

"Last time I looked, elders worthy of respect didn't call children smart-asses."

Yusaku cleared his throat, breaking up the exchange. "What do you mean, before Snake could hurt it?"

KID held up the stone. "This jewel has consciousness. It has thoughts and feelings, and memories of things so far back, there is no human alive to speak of them. It talked to me... asked me if I could help it. It said they were going to hurt it, so I stole it before that could happen."

Yusaku looked worried for the thief's sanity. "It _talked_ to you?"

"Yea- ow!" The jewel dropped from KID's fingers as Yukiko gave his arm a particularly rough squeeze. The stone rolled along the floor, coming to rest against Shinichi's foot. She picked it up and stared at it. It was small, small enough to hide in her fist. It was more or less spherical in shape, though not smooth like a marble- it had been cut many times, so that it consisted of many polished surfaces forming a sphere. It was a brilliant, mesmerizing red and bathed her hand in a ruby glow as the moonlight streaming through the window caught it. It was heavier than she'd expected it to be.

There was a stirring inside Shinichi's head.

**Who're you?**

Shinichi shrieked and dropped the jewel. It landed heavily onto the carpet and rolled a few centimeters before stopping. Yusaku and Yukiko stared at her, surprised. KID waved his hand to attract her attention.

"Did you hear it? Did it speak to you?", he asked.

"Y-yes, it did. Didn't you hear-?

KID shook his head. "I think you can only hear it when you're touching it."

"What?", said Yukiko, looking from KID to Shinichi. "Hear what?"

"Touch it, and you'll see."

Both Yukiko and Yusaku held the stone, and gave more or less the same reactions as Shinichi.

"You see?", KID said, wincing as Yukiko began to bandage his arm. "I told you it has consciousness."

**Will somebody tell me what's going on here? Is Toichi okay?**

Shinichi stared at the stone, which was still being held by Yusaku. "If you can only hear it when you're touching it, why can I still hear it speaking?"

KID blinked at her. "You can still hear it?"

"Yes. It wants to know if you're okay."

**Well, is he?**

"Yes, he's okay!", Shinichi snapped at the jewel. "Now will you shut it?"

"Interesting", KID said musingly. "It seems as if Pandora has chosen you as it's guardian."

"Guardian?", Yusaku said.

"Yes. You know the stories, right? Pandora is the legendary jewel that glows red in the moonlight. It cries tears of immortality at the passing of the Volley Comet, which only passes once every 10,000 years. Since Pandora is so revered, wars have been fought over it, people have been killed because of it. To prevent Pandora from falling into the hands of humans undeserving of it, it was granted the ability to appoint someone to protect it. That person will share a bond with Pandora, and is given abilities in return for guarding it. That person will guard Pandora until one of them ceases to exist."

"And I've been appointed for this?!", Shinichi exclaimed.

"Yeah, it seems so."

"But why me?! Why not you?!"

"I don't know. Maybe I haven't got the right attributes for a guardian? In any case, it seems I have no choice but to leave Pandora to you."

"Hold on", Yusaku said. "What if we don't want our daughter to be a guardian for this jewel?"

"I don't think you have any choice. But don't worry, it won't harm her. She just needs to hide it."

"But by bringing Pandora here, haven't you just put Shinichi in danger?", Yukiko said. "What if the men who shot you come after her?" She drew her arms protectively around her daughter.

"They won't. They wouldn't believe that a child, of all people, would agree to hide Pandora. Especially not the child of the Kudo family. Believe me, I wouldn't have come here at all if there was any chance that any of you would be put in danger."

Yusaku and Yukiko looked at him, then at each other.

"Shinichi", Yusaku said. "I don't suppose you could leave us for a while?"

Shinichi nodded, deciding not to argue against the serious look on her father's face. She scooped up Pandora and her unfinished homework, and went to her room.

**This is a nice house. How long have you lived here for?**, Pandora asked conversationally.

"Most of my life", Shinichi said. She put the jewel in a small box on her desk and continued with her homework.

**You're very calm. Most people would be freaking out by now.**

"Well, there's nothing much I can do, so I might as well just go with the flow." Shinichi frowned at her homework and tapped a few numbers into her calculator.

**But don't you find it exciting? Having a magical jewel contacting you? Becoming a guardian?**

"Magic doesn't exist. I'm sure that there's a reasonable, scientific explanation for this.'

The jewel snorted. **Go on then. Explain.**

"I didn't say I had an explanation. I just said there was. Anyway, could you stop talking to me for a moment, please? I need to have this homework finished by tomorrow."

**What is it?**

"Maths."

**Plbth.**

"Will you stop blowing rasberries and shut the hell up?"

**Plbttthhh. Plllluuhbuhthfth. Pllllluuuuuuuuhhhhhbuhhhthft hfuuh. Pllluuu-**

Shinichi groaned and head butted the desk. And she was meant to endure this for her whole life? She couldn't even endure five minutes!

Later on, Yusaku and Yukiko came up to her room and told her that they had agreed to hide Pandora, but only if Shinichi agreed, seeing as she was the jewel guardian. Pandora went very silent, and Shinichi got the feeling that it was slightly scared of what her answer would be. Shinichi sighed, and grudgingly agreed. She spent the next six months getting to know and yelling at Pandora.

It turned out that Pandora had made a temporary link with KID in order to escape from Snake. KID had discovered Pandora by accident, and they had worked together to get it away from Snake safely, and had kept the link in order to chat from time to time.

It was while Shinichi was watching the famous magician Toichi perform magic tricks on TV, and Pandora was using it and KID's link to chat with him that something odd happened. Shinichi became aware that Pandora was agitated, just as people began to report that Toichi's trick seemed to be taking longer than usual. Pandora reappeared back in Shinichi's head, yelling that they had to help Toichi before he died.

Shinichi clapped her hands over her ears, not that it made any difference to the volume of Pandora's voice.

"Why? What's happening?!"

**We've got to help him! Snake's gonna kill him!**

"When?!"

**NOW! Hold on- I need to see if he's still okay.**

Shinichi felt Pandora's panic turn into fear, then anger. "Pandora! Hello! Talk to me here. What's happening?"

There was an explosion on the TV set. The room where Toichi was holding his magic show had gone up in flames. At the same moment, that the fire enveloped the room, Shinichi felt Pandora's consciousness switch off.

The only explanation Shinichi could come up with was that Pandora had somehow become overwhelmed by the feelings triggered by Toichi's death and the sensation of being surrounded by flames and dying. For eight years, Shinichi guarded Pandora, allowing her parents to attach it to a necklace in order to keep it with her, and eventually having it made into the voice-changing necklace. As the years went by, Shinichi felt Pandora slowly start to stir.

And, eight years later, Pandora was finally starting to wake up.

* * *

I know it's a small chapter after a long wait, but in a few days, it'll be the Christmas holidays, so I can guarantee a lot more chapters then :)

Hope you've enjoyed Chapter 9 of Moonlight Magician! Please review :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Whaaat?", Ayumi cried, shocked. "You'll be leaving soon?!"

"Why?", Genta demanded.

Christie smiled apologetically. "You remember I told you that my parents live overseas, and they're too busy to look after me? Well, they've both decided to take a break from work in order to spend more time with me. They want me to come live with them again- I've got to go."

Ayumi's eyes filled with tears. "But you can't go! We won't be the Detective Boys without you!"

"Yes, you will", said Christie firmly. "You'll solve every mystery that comes your way and make me proud."

She caught sight of Haibara flicking away imaginary tears at this emotional display and glared at her.

Ayumi burst into (real) tears and threw her arms around Christie, who stared at her uncomfortably and patted her awkwardly on the back. Seeing that Genta and Mitsuhiko were also suspiciously shiny around the eyes, her expression softened. An idea occurred to her.

"Listen", she said, "there's a person who's moving into the house next to Professor Agasa soon. Her name is Shinichi Kudo."

Ayumi let go of her and wiped her eyes. "So?", she sniffled.

"She's a detective too- an even better one than me. She can help you out if you ever get stuck on a case, and she's a nice person. I'm sure you guys'll all get along."

"Hold on", Mitsuhiko said slowly. "Shinichi Kudo... isn't she that famous teenage detective? How do you know her, Christie?"

"We're distantly related. Actually, she looks a lot like me."

"Understatement", Haibara sang quietly, drawing curious glances from the other Detective Boys.

"A-anyway", Christie continued hastily, glaring at Haibara, "I want you guys to be nice to her, alright? Don't pester her, but you're welcome to come to her for help. Consider it my leaving present."

"Okay!", chorused the Detective Boys.

* * *

"Slick", Haibara laughed quietly as they walked home. As usual, her and Christie lagged behind the group as they walked, all the better to converse normally.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Getting these kids to like you as Shinichi Kudo. Afraid you'll be lonely once you're all grown up?"

"No", said Christie grimly. "This way, I can prevent them from getting into any serious trouble, and eventually cause them to forget all about Christie Edogawa. Once I'm grown, they'll never see me like this again, so it's best to sever the bond as much and as soon as possible."

Haibara's teasing smile faded. "You may be right. But don't go around befriending these vulnerable kids until the Black Organisation is taken care of."

Christie grinned at her. "Finally starting to have faith in my plan?"

Haibara tossed her hair and sped up to walk with the others. "When hell freezes over."

* * *

"What?", Ran gasped, as Christie finished speaking. "Your parents want you back?"

"Yes, Ran-neechan. Mummy and daddy said they want me back right away! They've even taken time off work so we can play together." Christie allowed her eyes to fill with tears. "I'll be super-happy to see them again, but I'll miss you, Ran-neechan!"

Ran's eyes brimmed with tears and she gathered Christie into a hug. "I'll miss you too, sweetheart."

"You've been like a big sister to me."

Christie felt sorrow squeeze her chest as she knew that statement to be true. She no longer thought of Ran as a love interest, but now as a caring big sister. Her two years as a child had altered her feelings for Ran, towards other people, towards _life_. She valued it a lot more- her experiences had taught her to view her life as a precious, valuable existence. She no longer took it for granted.

And she herself had changed too. Looking back at herself, she saw how she had sometimes acted arrogant and proud when it was uncalled for. Now she saw how she had been, and realized how she had changed for the better. She was kinder, sensitivity replacing arrogance, humility replacing pride. After all, how else would she have been able to to survive KID's most taxing heists ( without spontaneously combusting) before learning to take a joke.

Ah, KID. He had played a large part in her change in character too, hadn't he?

Ran tightened her arms around her and Christie smiled sadly.

_Don't worry, Ran. I'll be back soon, and then I'll give you my answer. It might not be the one you've been hoping or waiting for, but at least you'll get it._

* * *

Christie looked around the vast hall KID's heist was being held in. Professor Agasa seemed to be attempting to hide (unsuccessfully) behind her, looking around nervously- he was frightened to having KID play a prank on him.

Christie had said goodbye to Ran (accompanied by her 'mother', who was now waiting for her with her father back at the Kudo mansion) and her grade school class, which was why she was at the heist with Professor Agasa. Christie scanned the crowd silently, for once keeping out of the way of Nakamori and his men. The person in charge of the venue had allowed them in, having heard of how skilled Christie was at picking KID out, although she had been forgotten in all the excitement. Besides, the blonde detective Hakuba had been invited as well, and most of the attention was now on him.

Christie glanced at her watch. Two minutes until the heist started. Just two minutes to find KID before he revealed himself. She continued to scan the crowd. There were a lot of people, since the person in charge of the venue had also decided that it would be good for business to let the public in. This obviously irritated Nakamori, who was stomping around like an enraged rhinoceros and yanking on the cheeks of anyone suspected of being KID.

Just two minutes. She could do this.

* * *

KID stared around the hall. He was disguised as a young, pimply member of the taskforce. He kept in character perfectly, scanning the crowd nervously, allegedly for KID, and stuttering whenever spoken to. Really, his character was just a walking cliche.

He saw a pale flash in the corner of his eye at about waist-height, and turned to see Christie standing out of the way in a corner of the hall. The flash he had seen had been the moonlight reflecting off of her now-silver hair. She was the only person he knew who's hair turned silver in moonlight. Not even Hakuba's did that.  
A vaguely familiar, chubby, elderly man stood behind her, looking apprehensive. KID noticed the semi-protective way Christie stood in front of him, and decided to avoid including him in his trick. He looked scared enough already.

Christie frowned, then looked up and stared at him, her gaze piercing and sapphire-blue. His breath caught in his throat and he became momentarily unable to look away.

_Idiot, she's just a child_, a voice snapped in his head.

_Pedo_, hissed another voice, which he quickly shook away. Where did that one come from?

Christie watched him staring at her, like a rabbit locked in a staring contest with a pair of rapidly-approaching headlights. She took in his stance (unconsciously KID-like), his height (tall due to thick-soled shoes), the tone of his skin (very pasty- almost like makeup...) and came to a conclusion- she'd found KID! She mentally congratulated herself, then congratulated him for not forgetting his contact lenses again. Instead of a sparkling, mischievous violet, his eyes were now a very fetching shade of muddy-brown. Nice.

She grinned, winked at him, then pointed him out to Professor Agasa, who gave him a sudden look akin to terror.

KID continued to stare at her, his mind in overdrive. She had winked at him, and then pointed him out to her guardian. Did she know who he was? But how? He had been staring at her, but surely that wasn't an adequate reason to suspect him, right...?  
KID was so lost in confusing thoughts that he didn't realize that Christie had come over to stand right in front of him. She tugged on his trouser leg and he jumped.

"W-what is it?", he stuttered squeakily, slipping back into his role.

Christie motioned for him to crouch so she could whisper in his ear, but he stubbornly stayed where he was, remembering what had happened the last time he had done so.

"Mr Policeman?", she asked childishly, staring fixedly at Hakuba, who was staring suspiciously at them. "When do you think KID will arrive?"

KID frowned, followed her gaze, and noticed Hakuba also. "W-well, the heist n-note said at m-midnight..."

"Right, right! Mr Policeman, could you do something for me?", she asked lowering her voice. "This is an extra-special secret, so you must promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

KID, discreetly watching Hakuba pretending not to watch them, nodded. It was weird how well Christie could act like a child- scary even. "Y-yeah?"

"This is my very last heist, so if you meet KID, could you tell him to make tonight _extra special_ for me, please?"

"Special...?"

"Yes, yes!", Christie laughed, clapping her hands in childish delight. "Like, reeaally funny? I want to have fun!"

Out of the corner of his eye, KID watched Hakuba wander away.

Forgetting his initial wariness, he crouched down beside her and allowed himself to speak in his normal voice. "I'll see what I can do, tantei-chan. And, in return, I don't suppose I could have my monocle and card gun back? I have spares, but even so..."

"Hell no!", Christie exclaimed, snapping straight out of angelic-mode. "Consider it a leaving present to myself. And you don't have to look so worried", she added, intercepting his nervous look, "I've wiped all the finger prints away, and they're in safe hands."

She glanced at her watch. As KID opened his mouth to argue, she brought up her hand and pressed her finger to his lips. Then, she held up his watch for him to see. "Kaitou KID", she said, her voice a perfect imitation of Hakuba's, "you are 5.3 seconds late for your heist."

She took her hand away and grinned.

KID gaped at her. "You- you sounded just like Hakuba! How did you-?"

"I can only do it with people I've met enough times", she said, shrugging modestly. "You want to see something else I can do?"

She composed her face, then smiled slowly. The smile widened opened up, became a maniacal, insane expression KID knew of old- his very own poker face, his Kaitou KID grin.  
Christie held it for a few seconds, then dropped it and walked back to Professor Agasa without another word.

"I'm never washing this hand again", she said conversationally to Professor Agasa, knowing she was out of KID's earshot. She rubbed the hand that had touched KID's lips.

Professor Agasa gave her a puzzled glance. "What?"

KID straightened up, blinking at her retreating back. Then, he smiled. Looked like his tantei-chan was majorly talented in areas other than detective work. Who knew?

He shook his head, grinning widely, then noticed Hakuba frowning at his watch. Yipes- late for his own heist. That wouldn't do.

There were screeches of shock all around as multicoloured smoke exploded into the room. When it cleared, KID was seen to be somehow standing in the air above the display case, insane grin fixed in place, arms open wide to encompass the whole room.

Christie's breath caught in her throat as she stared up at him, magnificent in the moonlight. She noted the feeling of peace that settled within her, and knew instinctively why she felt it. There was no death here- none of the murders she had to experience at least every month, the absence of fear at the curse that seemed to plague her. She no longer felt like a walking Death God, causing sorrow wherever she went. Here, she was free.

Lady Luck seemed to favor KID. Maybe KID's proximity caused Her to favor Christie as well?

_"Ladies and gentlemen! Let the heist begin!"_

* * *

This was a fun chapter to make :) I'll try to make KID's heist fun in the next chapter too.

As I explained in the last chapter, I wasn't able to update as much as usual due to school work and stuff. But now it's the Christmas Holidays, I should be able to update more frequently!

...Or so that's what I say. Here's my excuse for yet-to-come, infrequent updates:

To make a chapter, I first write it in my notebook. This is to sort of get a feel of how I want it to go- also, I can get ideas _anytime_ (during lunch, in the middle of the night, while in the bath, etc), and I can't have my computer on me 24/7, so a notebook's more convenient. Then, once I've got a chapter how I like it, I'll put it onto here whenever I have enough time. But I can get random bouts of writers block, or fall asleep during writing down a midnight idea and forget it all, or not have enough time to update at all.

The thing is, I can kinda see a short spell of writers block on the horizon (it usually comes about this far into the story), so I'm just warning you. Although it might not happen. I've been wrong before :P

...Alright! So, long, probably unnecessary explanation over- I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 10 of Moonlight Magician! Please review- criticisms are alright too (within reason), since they can help me later on in the story.

Thanks! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Christie's sides ached with barely contained laughter as she chased KID through the moonlit passages and rooms that led to the rooftop. Her legs just ached. She'd been chasing him for around ten minutes now, and ten minutes of constant sprinting isn't something that any seven-year-old could sustain.

The heist had been fabulous, absolutely insane!

* * *

_"Ladies and gentlemen! Let the heist begin!"_

Practically before he had finished speaking those words, the taskforce and Nakamori had sprinted towards KID, determined to get to him before he was able to start one of his infamous, humiliating pranks.  
KID had waited until they had all nearly reached him, then lifted up his arms. Immediately every object in a three meter radius of him, including the men running towards him, were picked up by some unseen force and were whirled in a circle around the room, with KID at the centre.

The thief frowned at the flying people, glanced around the crowds, and caught sight of Hakuba, quietly standing out of the way. With a wicked grin, he gestured towards the blonde detective, and watched as he was lifted up to join his comrades spinning around the room.

Christie bit back a laugh as Nakamori flailed in panic as he was carried a little too close to the crowd below and knocked a ridiculously ornate at off of the head of an elderly lady. She managed to clip him around the head with the edge of her handbag before he traveled away again.

KID scanned the crowd again, this time looking for tantei-chan. He needed to see her reaction- after all, wasn't the objective of this heist to make her have fun? Christie caught his gaze and misinterpreted it, grabbing a hold of Professor Agasa's sleeve so she wouldn't be carried away too. KID laughed.

"Are you having fun?", he bellowed to the crowd, still holding Christie's gaze.

"YES!", the crowd bellowed back, whooping and cheering.

Christie appeared to be giving the thought careful consideration. She looked up, smiling a little, then shook the flat of her hand slightly in mid air. _So-so._

KID gritted his teeth in determination. _Right._ He would make this heist fun for tantei-chan if it killed him. The objective: make tantei-chan laugh.

Christie saw the grim look on his face and took a tighter hold of Professor Agasa. Oh God.

"What did you do?", Professor Agasa hissed, shaking her shoulder. "Why is he looking at us like that? What did you _do_? What should_ I_ do?"

Christie looked up at him and grinned nervously. "Hold... on to something?", she suggested.

Professor Agasa blanched.

"But don't worry", Christie continued hastily. "He probably won't do anything to you or me."

"How can you be sure?", Agasa asked suspiciously.

"It's just a gut feeling I have."

"Ah", he said, nodding sagely. He had a lot of faith in Christie's gut feelings- they usually turned out to be right. Yusako and Yukiko were just the same.

Christie frowned. This heist was meant to be fun for her, a nod goodbye to her departure. KID wouldn't involve her in the heist while knowing that, would he...?

Yes, he would if he wanted to.

Christie crossed her fingers, then slipped slowly around the back of Agasa. If KID wanted to involve her that much, he would have to come and get her himself. She peeked around Agasa's bulk to watch.

KID, meanwhile, had noticed nothing of this. He thought for a moment, then grinned. He raised his arms and, to gasps from the crowd, floated forwards so that he was hovering right in the middle of the hall. Nakamori, his men, and a few stray litter bins and display cases slowed their constant whirling and eventually stopped , hovering a few inches off the ground.

Abruptly, they landed, amid groans, retches and cursing.

Maniacal laughter rang around the room, and KID lifted his arms yet again. This time, _everything_ moved (bar Christie, Agasa, every elderly person and young child present). Nakamori screamed as he was picked up yet again. The whirling became faster and faster, until everything was just a blur. KID could no longer be seen. When the whirling eventually stopped. Everybody up in the air had mysteriously changed clothes, and there was a vast array of multicoloured hair.

KID looked at Christie, hoping to see a laugh. He had used up more or less every trick he had on him- he had left his home in a hurry that night. To his gratification, her shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter. She pointed a few people out (such as Nakamori and Hakuba) to the professor, who began laughing also.

KID grinned at the TV crew who also hung suspended in the air, bowed to the camera, and disappeared in another multicoloured puff of smoke.

Everybody landed gently.

Many people attempted to get up immediately, and paid for it in nausea and disorientation. Hakuba crawled away quietly to vomit in a corner.

"Thank goodness that's over", Professor Agasa said, relieved.

Christie saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye and turned to see a shadowy figure hurriedly disappear from a doorway to her left. A second later, it appeared again, peeping around the door frame. Christie could see moonlight flash off of a round disk of light near the top of the shadow. KID's monocle.

"Actually, I don't think it is", Christie said quietly. The air of glee surrounding the figure was unnerving her.

Agasa once more looked terrified. "How do you mean?"

Christie ducked her head and looked at KID through the curtain of her hair. "Just a feeling."

Instinct urged Christie to look up. There were multicoloured balloons floating out of an air vent high above them. They spread out into the room, and then stopped.

_Ah. The grand finale._

"Professor?", Christie said slowly. "It was raining outside when we arrived here, wasn't it? Did you bring an umbrella?"

"Yes, I did." Professor Agasa brought out his umbrella and looked at her quizzically. "Why?"

Christie pointed. He followed her gaze. "Oh."

Agasa crouched beside her at her instigation and opened up the umbrella to cover them both.

A second later, the balloons exploded. Gunk of all colours, glitter, sequins and feathers coloured the audience into a shocked and indignant mass.

Agasa looked at the chaos around him and stood up, still holding the umbrella over him. "I think I'll wait outside."

The shadowy figure grinned and disappeared from the doorway. Christie narrowed her eyes. "Keep the umbrella", she said, and ran after KID.

* * *

And now here she was, chasing KID through the building, pushing her tiny body to its limit. KID jogged along in front of her, letting her almost, just almost, grasp the end of his mantle, before increasing speed and pulling away again.

"Come on, tantei-chan, you can do better than that", he called, flashing her a mocking grin. He knew she wouldn't be able to use her watch or shoes against him- they both required her to stand still to aim, and he would be long gone before she would be able to do that.

They reached a dead end, and Christie wondered if she would be able to finally catch him. But no- KID reached the end of the corridor, planted his feet against the wall, and executed a neat back flip over her head. Christie reached the wall, going too fast to stop, and kicked off against it to gain some speed before KID could disappear from her sight.

She tried to increase her speed and had to blink yellow flashing spots out of her eyes.

_Ugh. I need a time out. The sooner I get my old body back, the better._

There was a quiet, barely heard sigh from the dark recesses of her brain. Christie looked down at Pandora, which was bouncing on her chest as she ran, and tucked it under her shirt.

Just as she became convinced that she would pass out before arriving at the rooftop, KID increased his speed, kicked open a pair of double doors, and ran out into the moonlight.

"You're getting old, tantei-chan", he laughed, watching Christie brace herself against her knees to catch her breath.

Christie, too exhausted to come up with a retort that was neither ridiculously pathetic nor petulant, flipped him her middle finger and straightened up. Not exactly the most original of replies, but it was worth it for the look on his face.

She glanced down- yes, Pandora was safely hidden from the moonlight- and glared at him. "You've gotten faster."

"No, you've just gotten slower- and more vulgar. Do you even know what that sign you just made means?"

Christie closed her eyes and counted to ten. _It's not his fault, he doesn't know you're not a child..._ She opened them again and looked at him calmly. "Yes, I do. Are you planning on returning that jewel anytime soon?"

KID tossed the gem to her. "Take it. It's-"

"-not the jewel you're looking for- i.e. Pandora", Christie finished for him, catching it neatly. "Of course it isn't. I told you, didn't I? It's too well protected for you to ever find it."

She wasn't exactly telling him a lie. She knew that there was only a tiny chance that he would ever realize that she was the one who held Pandora. It was protected by how people viewed the word 'protection'. They heard the word and thought of strong guards, vaults, locks, traps, to keep an object from harm. The jewel had a unique protection- what it was really protected by was the way other people thought.  
KID especially. He spent his nights breaking into top-security locations- it was natural for him to immediately think of complicated locks and bodyguards, and a big secret place to keep the jewel in. Which meant that he would immediately count Christie out when thinking of the people who would guard it.

Christie was rather pleased with herself.

KID looked at Christie and found the familiar curiosity stirring. She tended to have that effect on him. "How do you know so much about Pandora anyway? You can't have this much information just from research- someone must have told you about this stuff."

Christie was silent for a moment. She had been prepared for this question, and knew a way to get around it. "Lets play a game", she said, grinning. She knew people like KID could never resist a challenge. "A game of tag, sort of. We both need to find each other. Whoever finds the other person first wins. The loser must tell the winner all they know. Sound fair?"

KID narrowed his eyes. "When you say to find each other... you mean we have to find each other's true identities, right?"

"Yep." Christie held out her hand. "You wanna play?" When KID hesitated, she smirked. "What's the matter KID? Are you_ scared?"_

_You little brat... you know my weakness, huh?_

"...I'll play", KID said, and shook her hand. There was nothing he liked more than a challenge, and Christie's smirk had reminded him forcibly of it.

"I'll definitely win", Christie said, knowing she had a trump card. There was no way he would ever suspect Christie Edogawa was Shinichi Kudo... and she remembered dimly that Toichi had mentioned he had a son.

"But I know what you look like", KID reminded her triumphantly. "You'll have a harder time than me."

Christie mumbled something under her breath that KID was sure he wasn't supposed to hear. Nevertheless, he read her lips.

_"Are you sure about that?"_

"So!", Christie said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "It's a deal!" She grinned widely, then winced and touched her cheek. The stitches had been taken out of the gash caused by a bullet from the Black Organisation, but it still throbbed.

KID frowned at it. "That cut... you got it when those men chased you, right?"

Christie scratched her cheek in embarrassment, then mentally slapped herself as fire spread across her face. "Yeah... the doctor said it would leave a scar."

"It's silvery."

"Yeah. It'll never fade, but I'm fine with that. Hey! You can use that as a hint for when you look for me!"

"What's your hint?"

"Your eyes. Nobody has eyes like yours, my dear Elpis." Christie winked at him.

KID smirked, taking it as a compliment, then frowned. "Elpis?"

"Oh, uh..." Christie was embarrassed that she had let slip her private nickname for him. "It's nothing. Look it up when you get home", she suggested. She would be long gone by then, and far away from his ability to cause embarrassment.

"So... you're leaving soon then?", KID asked.

"Yup." Christie walked past him and hopped onto the wall surrounding the roof edge.

"So, I guess this is goodbye?"

Christie shrugged. It wouldn't be, not for her. "I guess. Thanks for the heists, especially this one tonight. It was funny."

"The first time I've ever made you laugh."

Christie blinked at him. "No, actually. I've always laughed, but it would have been unprofessional to do so out loud. Always keep poker face!", she snickered. "But seriously, thank you. This may sound a little gooey, but you've actually changed my life... a lot. You brightened it up when it was dark. That's why you're my Elpis!"

She grinned at him, and he smiled back uncertainly, unsure if she was complimenting him or not. He wouldn't know until he had looked Elpis up, which was probably why she was grinning at him like that. For the first time, KID had an inkling what it felt like to be teased the way he teased people. He could understand Nakamori's constant rage now.

Christie was probably the only person he knew who had enough mischief to actually be KID. She certainly understood him enough to mimic his actions. But now she was leaving.

KID's expression softened. "Goodbye, tantei-chan. My heists won't be the same without my most favorite critic. I'll definitely find you first!"

Christie rolled her eyes. "So competitive, KID-niisan! You have no chance." She felt a little pain in her chest. Goodbyes were always painful. "Oh, and KID?"

"Yes, tantei-chan?"

KID looked at her, standing on the edge of the roof. She looked almost angelic- her hair moon-dyed silver, flowing like water in the wind. Her eyes glowed like sapphires, and her stance was almost bird-like. He wouldn't have surprised if she had unfolded a pair of wings at this point.

Justice Angel had really been a good nickname for her.

"The Heisei Lupin isn't the only one who can jump of buildings unscathed!"

She allowed herself to fall backwards out of sight. KID rushed forwards and saw nothing- no falling child, no motionless body, nothing. He saw a glint to his left and laughed- she'd left the jewel behind for Nakamori.

Shaking his head, KID opened up his hanglider and took off. _That kid is really something... I'd better find her fast._

In the crowd outside, Christie folded up her black, mini hanglider, smiled at the white speck in the distance, and went to find Professor Agasa.

* * *

I know this is a little late, but... Merry Christmas! :)  
Unfortunately, I've been at my Aunt's house for the past few days, which has no internet connection. I wanted to post this sooner, but it couldn't be helped...

Anyway! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 11 of Moonlight Magician!

Please review, and if you've noticed any spelling mistakes, or have any criticism, I'll be glad to hear it.

To metantei konan: It was my plan all along to make the gem talk, so yes. I hope to make a good character out of it :)

To DCoRaNichi220: Ran is a girl. I refer to Ran as 'her', and 'she', and Christie calls her 'Ran-neechan', instead of 'Ran-niichan'. Neechan is older sister, while niichan is older brother. I hope I've cleared up any confusion :)

Thanks for reading :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Kaito stared at the screen on his laptop with tired eyes. Hope. Elpis meant hope.

When Pandora's curiosity had become too much for her, and opened the small box given to her husband by the Gods, terrible things, diseases, horrors, had rushed forth. Pandora had only just managed to slam the lid shut before one last thing could escape, something small and fragile- hope. Except hope had been called Elpis back then.

Kaito smiled at his discovery, then opened up another window. He decided to do a little research on Christie.

Research that turned up nothing. There were no recordings of her birth. No clues to suggest who her parents might be. Nothing to show that she had ever gone to school. That she had even had parents. That she had ever lived in an orphanage.  
The girl might as well have never existed.

So he decided to research her current guardians- the Mouri family. Ran Mouri. Kogorou Mouri. Eri Kisaki. None of them had any connection whatsoever to Christie Edogawa, except for living with her.  
Kaito found this odd- he had originally assumed that Kogorou was her father and Ran her sister, because why else would you have an unknown child living with you? But it seemed that they had just taken her into their family with no questions asked.

_Of course, Christie Edogawa could be a made up name,_ Kaito acknowledged grudgingly. Of course it was. Christie had told him herself. But there was no harm in checking- it was just a little galling to find that she hadn't taken a name with some significance to her, which would have made his search easier.

Another thing that Christie had told him was that she didn't really exist. At first, Kaito had brushed that comment aside, assuming she just meant that her current name just wasn't her own. But now, he was starting to realize the significance of what she had told him.  
There were records of _everybody_- try as you might to hide yourself, tracks were always made. But not by her. To the world, Christie Edogawa literally didn't exist.

In fact, the only assurances he had of her existence were a few newspapers with her face and name on- usually when she had triumphed against him in a heist- and his own eyewitness account.

How was he ever supposed to find her? The girl was a living ghost. Try as he might, he could find no concrete evidence that she actually existed.

Kaito wondered, just for a moment, if that when Christie did as she said she would, and disappeared, would all traces of her vanish also? Would her face fade from the photographs, her name from Kaito's mind? When she had said she was to disappear, did she mean what it sounded like, or was her meaning deeper?

_Of course not,_ Kaito scolded himself._ Don't be ridiculous. She just meant that she was going to leave Tokyo, that's all._

But he couldn't stop the uncomfortable feeling that had settled in his chest. He remembered what that gun-toting child- Haibara?- had said about Christie being poisoned. Maybe when Christie spoke about disappearing, she meant dying?!

_Shut up! Stop worrying! Is this any way for the great Kaitou KID to behave?_

And he continued his research with renewed vigor.

* * *

"Shin-chan!", Yukiko cried, rushing forwards with her arms open wide.

Christie sprinted forwards, ducked beneath her mother's arms, slid between her legs, and promptly crashed into Yusaku.

"A touching reunion", Haibara said drily, watching a struggling Christie being hugged and kissed by her parents.

Professor Agasa laughed sympathetically as a yell of ,"Get OFF of me!", issued from the scuffle before them.

Christie, red-faced and embarrassed, managed to get out of Yukiko and Yusaku's grasp.

"So, Shin-chan", Yukiko said, squatting beside her daughter and grinning. "Why did you call us here?"

"Haibara will explain", Christie said, stealthily backing away.

And so Haibara explained.

"She's found the cure! Yusaku, she's found the cure!", Yukiko squealed, shaking her husband by the arm.

"I know, I've been here all along", Yusaku said, his head helplessly lolling back and forth on his neck.

"I'm planning to administer the cure tomorrow morning", Haibara said.

"No", Christie said. "Today. Give me the cure today."

Haibara blinked at her. "But don't you want to... say goodbye to your current lifestyle? Come to terms with what you're about to do?"

Christie looked at her blankly. "No. I've been doing that for the past two years. Lets get this over with!"

"Well... okay", Haibara said. "It's up to you. I've decided to cure you in your own house, in your bedroom... it will be better, since her room has a bathroom, and it will be better for her to be in a familiar place..." She was talking to Christie's parents now, as she shunted Christie up the stairs to get things ready.

Yukiko, Yusaku, and Agasa went into the kitchen for tea, as Agasa explained what was going to happen. Haibara spoke to Christie as they entered the bedroom.

"Listen, I didn't have time to tell you this before, but there might be a few after-effects to the antidote."

Christie looked apprehensive. "Like what?"

"Well... you know how APTX 4869 _only_ shrunk you- you still have your personality and memories and everything? It seems that in order for you to keep your teenage mental abilities, your body will occasionally induce a hormone, a stimulant to... well, stimulate your brain so that you can maintain your usual way of thinking. This means that in order to counter-effect this and keep the balance, the cure will cause your body to do the opposite, and induce a depressant into your system instead. This will affect your physical abilities a little after being cured, so it's best to lay low for about a week until the balance is restored."

Christie nodded thoughtfully. "Right. But- correct me if I'm wrong- doesn't a depressant also have an effect on your emotions as well? Stimulants make you.. happy? Wouldn't a depressant do the opposite?"

Haibara fidgeted uncomfortably. "Er... yes."

"I'm going to be _depressed?"_

"Most likely."

Christie took a deep breath. "How do you figure all this anyway?"

"My test mice came back. I think they got hungry."

"And?"

"They became suicidal."

"Oh."

"It was almost funny, really. Like they thought they were lemmings or something."

"You're sick."

"Anyway", Haibara continued, "since this is the real cure, and not a temporary one, your body will take quite some time to reassert itself. You'll be in a lot of pain, and the transformation will take a few days to complete. You must remember to drink lots of fluids, since a child's body has less water than an adult's. Be careful not to become dehydrated."

"Will I have to eat a lot as well?"

"Not if you're in too much pain to. Humans can live longer without food than water, but you'll have to remember to eat as much as you can while you're able."

Christie nodded. It made sense in a way- since she'd only been eating and drinking child-sized portions of everything, it stood to reason that her adult body would be a little under-nourished.

It hadn't mattered to previous transformations, because her body had recognized that the cures hadn't been permanent. So it used up all its stored fats and sugars to keep her going while she was grown, and ditched them once she became small again.

"It'll be very painful", Haibara said. "Are you quite sure you're ready for this?"

"No. But let's do it anyway." Christie grinned at Haibara, who gave her a minuscule smile in return.

Haibara handed over the cure, two small red-and-white caplets, and watched Christie swallow them.

Christie licked her lips and sat in the middle of the bed. Waited.

"Are you sure this is the right-", she began.

She stopped, gasped. She slowly rolled onto her side on the bed and began to gasp, clutching her chest. The pain blossomed, and grew, spreading through her body. She was_ burning._

Haibara put her hands over her ears.

Downstairs, Agasa dropped the teapot as Christie began to scream.

* * *

_Shinichi looked around. White walls. Fluorescent lights. Cages stacked high. She was in the bird house again._  
_She turned her attention to the only occupied cage in the room. She jumped, trying to reach it. Perhaps she'd grown since the last time she was here? Nope, still too small._

_Or was she?_

_Her bones creaked. Her skin stretched. Shinichi began to grow. Oh, how it burned._

_She stared up at the bird in the cage above her, into those, beautiful, familiar, captivating violet eyes._

_"Just wait a little while. Just a little while longer. Then I'll free you... KID, right?"_

_Although the bird's face hadn't noticeably changed, Shinichi still thought she detected a smile._

* * *

The ceiling slowly came into focus. It blinked once, twice, groaned. How long had it been out for...?

Toichi. Snake. Burning. Dying.

Pandora gasped. Eight years. Silent for eight years. Too weak to move, to speak. And that feeling, that horrible feeling of death, felt by Pandora, experienced firsthand by Toichi. If it had eyes, Pandora's would have filled with tears. Poor Toichi. Dead Toichi.

But Shinichi wasn't dead. Good.

Pandora allowed itself to drift upwards so it hovered over its jewel. It looked it over with interest. It liked what Shinichi had done with it- put it in a little wire cube... like a box. Pandora's box!

Pandora giggled. It let it's gaze travel upwards and rest on Shinichi's face. Which was oddly young. Too young.

It _had_ been eight years, right? Pandora might have been asleep, in a way, but it could still see. It had watched the events of the past eight years through Shinichi's eyes, with a sort of emotionless detachment. Why hadn't she aged?!

Wait. Hold on. There was something in there, something she hadn't paid attention to.

For a few hours, Pandora silently watched Shinichi's memories play before it. Mysteries. Detective work. The Black Organisation. Christie Edogawa. Haibara Ai. Pandora paid particular attention to Kaitou KID, and would have smiled at Shinichi's attachment to him if it had a mouth. Then, the memories played up to a few minutes before she had woken up, and stopped. Blank.

Pandora felt it's very being trembling with anger. Snake! And now the Black Organisation! Nobody treated its guardian like that! Despite it's incessant teasing, Pandora was very attached to Shinichi.

It turned to her, stroked gentle fingers of air of her face.

**Wake up. C'mon, wake up.**

Nothing. And so Pandora delved down into her mind and felt the fire. Shinichi was in pain.

**Well, at least I can get rid of this.**

Pandora took away the pain, held it away from its sleeping guardian, and watched Shinichi dream of birds until she woke up.

* * *

Let me get this straight here- KID is not a pedophile. He is intrigued by Christie, etc, but does not fancy her. Yet.

Please review! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 12 of Moonlight Magician! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

KID grinned and raised his arms.

_"Let the heist begin!"_

The crowed _ooh_ed. Nakamori roared. Same old, same old.  
Now KID was perched on the edge of the rooftop. He tossed the stolen jewel carelessly from hand to hand as he waited for the taskforce to arrive. He_ hated_ waiting.

Christie, now, Christie was different. She would've arrived at the rooftop_ long_ ago. They would be exchanging insults like they usually did, KID goading her mercilessly, her looking for a way to prevent him from escaping.  
There would be the usual fight, and KID would eventually return the jewel and take off. And, in those few moments before the rooftop became too far away to make out, Nakamori and his taskforce would arrive. Nakamori would yell obscenities at his retreating back, while Christie would slip away unnoticed, her head shining silver in the moonlight. Slipping the jewel into the pocket of a member of the taskforce. Rolling her eyes at the stupidity she was surrounded by.

Fun times.

The taskforce, led by Nakamori, chose this moment to spill out onto the rooftop, snapping KID from his daydreams. They were covered in glue and feathers, and KID smirked, shaking his head. Christie would have avoided those traps with ease.

"KID! You're not getting away with this!", Nakamori yelped.

KID crossed his legs and rested his chin in the palm of one hand. His face assumed and mock-bored expression.

Nakamori hesitated. Why wasn't KID grinning like usual? Normally, the grin he always had plastered on was considered the most unnerving thing about him. It was now discovered that KID had an expression more unnerving than his grin- the lack of one.  
The taskforce shuffled indecisively, unsure of what to do.

"I'm bored, Nakamori-keibu", KID announced into the bewildered silence.

"Wha-"

"Shut up now. Good boy. Where was I...? Ah, yes. I'm bored, Nakamori-keibu, and it's all_ your_ fault." He pointed a gloved hand accusingly at Nakamori, who flinched.

"S-so?", Nakamori said, his voice cracking unpleasantly. KID was freaking him out.

"Sooo, it's your job to make things fun. And that's exactly what you're not doing. So, you'd better make things fun for me and do it right... otherwise who knows what I'll do? Nakamori-keibu~"

As he spoke, he advanced on the inspector until he was right in front of him. Nakamori trembled. The grin was back, and it was in his face.

He nodded mutely.

"Good!" In the space of a second, KID was back at the edge of the rooftop, grinning normally once more. He did a backflip off of the edge.

And thought,_ If that had been Christie, she wouldn't have just nodded. She would have tranquilized me by now._

Fun times indeed.

* * *

Kaito rocked back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. It was class time, but that didn't matter. No teacher in the school had the courage to discipline him.

His classmates on the other hand...

"BAKAITO!" Akoko twisted around in her seat, over Kaito's desk and slammed his chair down. "Pay attention!"

Kaito smirked as he rocked back again. "Now now, Ahoko... don't have a hissy fit."

That was it. Aoko stood up. The mop came out. The usual class time chaos ensued.

Hakuba shook his head and packed up his books. It was almost the end of class anyway, and he knew that Aoko and Kaito wouldn't stop before the bell.  
He was right. Kaito jumped onto Akako's desk, stuck his tongue out at Aoko, and disappeared in a puff of smoke just as the bell began to ring. A second later, Aoko's mop shot through the empty space he had so recently occupied, and buried its head in the opposite wall. It stayed there, juddering, as the class began to pack up.

Kaito left school before anyone else, in an attempt to escape Aoko's wrath. Halfway home, he decided to stop off to get a snack at the café he and his friends often frequented.

As he round a corner, he bumped into a little girl. He stumbled back a few steps, then lurched forwards to steady her before she fell.  
She looked to be around eleven or twelve years of age, and felt strangely frail. Her dark brown hair contrasted sharply with her pale face, and she was wrapped up in much warmer weather than that. Kaito got the feeling it was to give her body some bulk, but, if it was, the attempt was unsuccessful. She looked as if she would snap if the wind blew too hard.

"Sorry, sorry", he said. "Are you okay?"

She nodded mutely, clutching a small paper bag to her chest. She looked up into his eyes and an astounded look passed her face.

"Er... I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No", she said, "thank you for catching me." She had the faint traces of an American accent.

"That's good." He let go of her tentatively, half expecting her to keel straight over again.

"Kaito!"

Kaito turned to see Aoko, Akako, and Hakuba advancing on him down the street.

"Come to the café with us!", Aoko invited, the earlier squabble clearly forgotten.

"Alright!", he said, then turned back to the girl. "Sorry again."

She patted his hand and smiled. "It's alright." She turned and left.

As Kaito began to walk with his friends, Akako pulled him to one side.

"Kuroba-kun, who was that child you were with?"

"Just some girl I bumped into. Why?"

"I don't know. She just... didn't feel right. Unnatural, almost."

Kaito shrugged, putting it down to the girl's odd appearance. "Maybe she was ill? It doesn't matter, she's gone now. What will you be having at the café? I'm dying for some hot chocolate!"

* * *

Shinichi watched the boy walk away with his friends. She scratched her head absently- the brown wig was itchy.

"Unnatural, huh?", she murmured.

**Shinichi...**, Pandora said. **Was that-?**

"KID? I don't know. I'll have to investigate that boy to find out."

**When you're fully grown?**

Shinichi glanced down at her stick-thin wrists and took a doughnut out of the paper bag. She bit into it. "Yeah. When I'm fully grown."

* * *

Shinichi screamed.

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I can't hold the pain all the time, so-**

"It's fine", Shinichi grunted. The muscles in her neck were standing out like ropes.

**Just give me one night to rest and I'll take the pain again.**

"Yeah."

**Sorry.**

"Shut up."

**Right.**

"Shin-chan", Yukiko said from the doorway, "there's someone who wants to see you. He's downstairs."

A quiet groan was her answer.

"Right, I'll see him off-"

"Hey there, Kudo!", Heiji said cheerfully, bounding into the room and accidentally dislodging the door. It swung shut in Yukiko's face.

"Oh no", Shinichi groaned.

"I see ya found the tha cure then." He looked at her, grimacing. "I gotta say, I don't envy ya."

"Go away."

"Now, is that any way ta treat someone who's traveled miles from home ta see ya?"

"I asked you to come to give KID a message while you were at the heist, not to annoy me!"

There was a quiet click as the door swung open to reveal Haibara. Holding a gun.

"Out", she said, in a voice that brooked no argument. Well, the gun had worked on KID before, why not on Hattori?

Shinichi gave her a thumbs up as the door swung closed again.

* * *

KID stared at the dark-skinned detective standing before him.

"I'm Heiji Hattori, and I'm here in place of Ku- I mean, Christie!"

Interest sparked in KID's brain. "You know Christie?"

"Yeah! Actually, she wanted me ta tell ya somethin'... oh yeah! It was: Don't worry if ya can't find me. I'll tell ya all ya want ta know... on your death-bed."

KID slime bombed him and flew away.

That _brat._ He was going to find her even if it _killed_ him...

Shinichi dissolved into tears of laughter as a multicoloured Heiji trudged in.

"Thanks a lot, Kudo."

"Don't mention it!", she giggled.

A very bad-tempered Heiji flew home the next morning.

* * *

Shinichi stood naked in her bathroom, looking at herself in the full length mirror. The transformation was done. She was seventeen again.  
She winced as she looked over her reflection. God, she was a mess. She needed to get her eyebrows done. And a haircut.  
It was so easy being a child- you didn't need to worry too much about the style of your hair, or the shape of your eyebrows. Or the state of your legs. Or the clearness of your skin. Or periods.

But it looked like she didn't need to worry about weight gain for a while. Her ribs stood out like knives.

She sighed and began the process of taking the hair off her legs. As she did, a wave of sadness hit her. She cried a little until she felt better.

Looking through her eyes, Pandora felt worried. She stared at the little crescent-shaped cuts on Shinichi's palms, made in her sleep.

**Uh oh.**

* * *

A week later, Shinichi wandered around the house. Her parents had left that morning, and Haibara and Agasa had gone back to their own place. The mansion had a quiet, empty feel. To be honest, Shinichi preferred it that way.

She rubbed her forehead absently. She'd forgotten how much it stung to get her eyebrows done, but her hair felt lighter and swishy after a trim, and her legs were happily devoid of hair.

She left the house and went to the café near it. There were a lot of school kids around- none from her school, but she'd worn a disguise just in case. She now had on a wig of tumbling auburn hair, and a sharply made-up face to match. She'd had enough of the plain-Jane disguises for a while.

As she gave her order and sat, a group in the booth in front of her caught her eye- a crowd consisting of five people. A girl and a boy from the group sat directly opposite her- a girl of magnificent elegance and beauty. Her hair was thick and long, an odd plum colour, and her face was pale and haughty. The boy beside her was none other than Hakuba.

She pulled her gaze away and focused on the science textbook in front of her. She had to revise for the tests she had missed over the past two years, since she'd soon be rejoining school.

She glanced up again and smiled at the waiter who brought her her coffee. Then spooned out the cream he had included free of charge. Bless him, he wasn't to know that she didn't like sweet cream.

"Not keen on sweet things, huh?", a voice said from opposite her. She looked to see the same teen who had bumped into her a week or so before smiling at her over the edge of his booth.

**The suspected KID!**, Pandora said excitedly.

She smiled back at him. "Nope, not at all." She gazed into unmistakable violet eyes.

He nodded towards her textbook. "I've seen you here a lot. You're always studying. Got tests coming up?"

"Yeah. Too many, and I'm freaking out."

"Well, you shouldn't be, not with the amount of studying you've been doing. I'm Kaito, by the way. Kaito Kuroba."

Shinichi had the hysterical urge to laugh. Who would have thought it? He was probably Toichi Kuroba's son! Well, she had suspected it at first... but who knew it would be this easy?

"Sonoko Kyogoku", she said, picking the first two names that popped into her head.

**You don't have _actual_ proof that he's KID**, Pandora reminded her, then stopped as Kaito pulled a white rose from nowhere. **Okay, never mind.**

Shinichi smiled as she accepted the rose. "Cool. You aiming to be a magician, Kuroba-kun?"

"Call me Kaito. And yes, the best magician ever! Even better than my dad- he was a magician too."

"With those skills, I'm sure you'll surpass him." She twirled the rose between her fingers and smiled at him.

"Thanks! What do you want to be when you grow up, Sonoko-chan?"

"Bakaito! Turn around and stop ignoring us!"

"Sorry!", he said, half turning towards Aoko to speak. When he turned back again, the textbook was gone, the coffee cup was empty, and Sonoko Kyogoku was nowhere to be seen.

He blinked and turned back to his friends. As he did so, a piece of paper floated down from where it was balanced on his head to land on the table. He unfolded it and read the message.

_I aim to be the most successful detective in the world.  
See you around, Kaito KID._  
_S.K._

Aoko glanced at the note and took in the two initials written at the bottom. "S.K? Who's that?"

"It stands for Sonoko Kyogoku", Kaito mumbled, pushing the note into his pocket.

"Oh."

"Why?"

"I thought I knew who it was. She has the same initials as a famous detective who's moving into the area."

Kaito stared at her. "Who?"

"I think her name was... Shinichi Kudo."

_S_hinichi _K_udo.  
_S_onoko _K_yogoku.  
_S.K._

Kaito groaned and face-palmed himself. "Idiot."

Shinichi, sitting a few booths away with a new disguise and a fresh cup of coffee, giggled.

* * *

"Damn that KID!" Nakamori slammed his clenched fists down onto his desk.

Inspector Megure caught Nakamori's_** BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!**_ mug of coffee as it made a bid for freedom over the edge of the desk. A heist note had somehow made its way into Nakamori's office, and now he was raging.

"We could lend you a few more police officers to guard the place", he offered half-heartedly. He set the mug down onto a filing cabinet to his left- a much safer location.

"That won't make any difference! It just gives KID a wider selection of faces to impersonate! We need someone able to spot little details, able to know when someone is lying, knows KID's mind well enough to predict his next movements..."

"Someone like me, then?" A slim figure slipped into the office, her face hidden in the shadows of the hoodie she was wearing.

"Who the hell are you?!", Nakamori barked, just as Megure let out a pleased exclamation.

"Shinichi Kudo." The hood was pulled back to reveal a pretty face with piercing, sapphire-blue eyes, long, light blonde hair, and a slightly wicked grin. "... Detective!"

* * *

Shinichi's back! :D  
I kinda fail at Heiji's accent...

Please review, tell me what you think, how I can improve, etc...  
Look forwards to the next chapter! I had fun writing it down, so you should have fun reading it.

Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 13 of Moonlight Magician! :D

P.S: About the depression thing Shinichi's going through... I usually only write stories that are quite dark, with lots of evil people and death and blood and such. And there's always an insane person involved. So, this story is probably the lightest one I've ever written, and I sort of gave in a little and allowed a little bit of darkness into it. Force of habit. Sorry all.  
I'll make it up to you with lots of KID pranks and complicated thinking on Shinichi's part :)

P.P.S: If you have any reviews that require an answer but you don't have an account, please remember to make up a user name for yourself, or sign it, so I can answer it in my author notes. Thank you! :D


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

KID looked around the hall the heist was being held in. He had had a stroke of luck that night- the police had allowed the public in, and he had no need to wear a disguise. Instead, he wore plain, unremarkable clothes and a cap pulled down low over his eyes. He glanced at his watch, accurate to the second.

_5 seconds to the heist..._  
He sidled nearer to the jewel.  
_4 seconds to the heist..._  
He took out a small earpiece and put it on. It was specifically attuned to the same wavelength the taskforce's walkie-talkies used.  
_3 seconds to the heist..._  
Hakuba wasn't there- that night seemed a guaranteed success.  
_2 seconds to the heist..._  
Or did Nakamori look a little smug?  
_1 second to the heist..._  
He readied himself.  
_Go!_

_"Ladies and gentlemen! I welcome you to... Kaitou KID's heist!"_

Ten minutes later, KID was running through the corridors that led to the rooftop. He _would_ have been there long ago, if only the taskforce didn't keep getting in his way.  
It was odd. They were avoiding his traps and tricks with ease- and all of them had an intense look of concentration fixed to their faces.  
They weren't using their walkie-talkies. In fact, their communication devices were mysteriously silent for a group of people with such great coordination.  
Then, KID saw something that cleared the matter up for him. A glint in the ear of one of the taskforce men as his helmet slipped.

They were using earpieces. Someone was watching them, probably through the cameras on the walls, and giving the men the information they needed to avoid his traps and track him down.

He grinned. He knew how to turn this to his advantage...

KID increased speed suddenly, startling his pursuers. Then, he sent out a dummy that fooled them into going down a different hallway.

KID entered a corridor and glanced behind him. Only one person on his trail. Good.  
He spotted a camera on the wall beside him and took it out.

Then, he took the taskforce man out.

* * *

Shinichi sighed as the camera KID was currently framed in was taken out.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!", Nakamori bellowed.

"No need to shout, I'm right beside you." She twiddled a finger in her ear to dislodge the ringing. "It seems that KID has worked out what we're doing."

"What should we do?"

"Continue to chase him. Hope to corner him. We can get the jewel if we're careful, but not KID. Not tonight."

"...I'll go out there." Nakamori grabbed an earpiece and left the room.

Shinichi tapped her temple as she watched the blank camera screen. She was sitting in a room lit only by moonlight and computer monitors. Spread out before her were several laptops showing the view of every camera in the building. She had been the one watching for traps and tricks laid down by KID, and relaying their locations to the taskforce, patiently guiding them through the building.

_"Angel! The KID we were chasing was a dummy! Where should we go next?"_

Shinichi winced and turned down the volume on her earpiece. Why were they all so loud? Even their whispers sounded loud. She couldn't understand why- wouldn't it be wiser to keep the volume down, to conserve energy? Or was it just a macho thing?

"KID is in corridor thirteen. Turn left, right, left, left, straight on, right."

_"Thanks!"_

**I swear you told them it was a dummy?**, Pandora said. Shinichi felt her frown.

_I did. I guess they got too excited to listen?_, Shinichi suggested mentally.

Pandora sighed, shook an imaginary head. **Men!**

_"Ku- I mean, Angel?" _This time, it was Nakamori.

"Yes?"

_"Why did you choose Angel as your codename?"_

Justice Angel...

Shinichi was quiet for a moment. "Someone once used that as a nickname for me. I kinda liked it." She looked up sharply as a figure ran out of the corridor with the broken camera. "Hold on, Takamoto-kun's just come out of corridor thirteen."

**You learnt their names?**

_Not really. I have an eidetic memory._

Shinichi frowned at the broken camera screen. Takamoto had come out, but KID hadn't. Which left two possibilities- the first being that Takamoto had overpowered KID and escaped, which Shinichi didn't find likely. And, if so, why was he running?  
The second possibility was that the man who had just run out of corridor thirteen wasn't Takamoto.

_"Takamoto!"_, Nakamori bellowed, _"where's KID?! Give us his location!"_

"He's not Takamoto-kun", Shinichi said.

Deep inside her head, Pandora frowned. **Who is he then?**

There was silence, then a quiet snicker. _"Very astute of you... Angel, was it?"_

_"KID!", _roared Nakamori, and half a dozen taskforce men.

**KID!**, Pandora squealed.

_Shuthafuckup! It's bad enough Nakamori deafening me without you joining in too!,_ Shinichi hissed mentally.

**Sorry!**

_It's not as if I can just plug my ears to block it out-_

**I _said_ I was sorry!**

"I apologize, Nakamori-san. It seems I can no longer be of much use to you, verbally", Shinichi said aloud.

_"It's quite alright, Ku- I mean, Angel",_ Nakamori said.

_"Nakamori-keibu, being polite?",_ KID said in mock surprise.

_"Well, she deserves it a damn sight more than you!",_ Nakamori yelled.

"I think I shall wait here until you guys are finished", Shinichi said, sitting back. "I wish you luck."

_"But can't you still tell us when KID lays down a trap?"_ asked a taskforce member named Hideki. He sounded puzzled.

"I'm afraid not." She watched as the view from a camera flickered and died.

_"How comes?"_, chipped in another. It seemed that everyone was listening in on the conversation.

"Because he's blacking out the cameras as we speak. He's in corridor twenty-two, if that helps any. Actually, he appears to be moving in a spiraling motion."

Out went camera nineteen.

_"Spiraling?"_, Nakamori huffed as he ran.

Camera seventeen was gone.

"Uh huh. With this room at the centre."

KID laughed loudly as he destroyed yet another camera. _"Well done!"_

_"EVERYONE TO THE COMMUNICATION ROOM!", _Nakamori ordered. _"NOW!"_

Shinichi frowned. "Nakamori-", she attempted.

**What is it?**

_I want to warn him not to give out our location._

_"Sir, where is the communication room?"_, a voice innocently piped up.

**Oh God.** Pandora realized what was about to happen. **Shinichi, stop him!**

Shinichi gave a half-smile, which Pandora found odd. "Nakamori, don't-"

_"Corridor three. The only room in the corridor. Who is this anywa... oh no."_

_"Takamoto, Nakamori-keibu. My name's Takamoto!",_ KID cackled.

"On second thoughts, I don't think I will hang around. I'll be taking my leave now", Shinichi said hurriedly. But instead of moving, she continued to sit calmly, an odd smile playing on her lips.

"Too late now", KID grinned, holding the stolen earpiece to his head. The part that kept it attached to his ear had broken during the scuffle with the real Takamoto, who was now lying unconscious and bound in corridor thirteen.

He was in the corridor that Nakamori had directed him to, running towards the only room. He was dying to see who this mysterious Angel was.

"Oh, KID. You must think we're_ so_ stupid", Shinichi whispered.

**Shinichi?, **Pandora said nervously.

"Too right!" KID kicked open the door, strode into the room, and grabbed the shoulder of the figure sitting before the only computer in the room... and stared as it flopped forwards, grinning inanely. Lifeless. Plastic. A dummy.

Shinichi smiled at the few laptops she had still running.

**Shinichi, isn't this room in corridor thirty?,** Pandora said.

_It is._

**Then...** Realization dawned. **Nakamori gave him the wrong location.**

_He did indeed._

**This was your plan all along.**

_It was._

Pandora felt confused.** I don't get why KID had to get Nakamori to tell him where we were.**

_Maybe because he didn't know?,_ Shinichi said sarcastically.

**But the way he was blacking out the cameras... you said we were in the middle. He _must_ have known.**

_All he did was black out the cameras closest in a circular motion, working on the assumption that we were somewhere in the middle. If we were, we'd comment on it, and he would know the area we were in, and have a better chance at finding us. If we didn't comment on it, it wouldn't matter, because he'd still win- he'd be able to escape more easily, with less cameras watching his every move. He'd just have to leave finding us for another day. Either way, he'd win. Except I'd anticipated this, so he won't, _she added smugly.

Pandora got it. It began to laugh, and Shinichi quickly shushed it. They waited breathlessly for KID's reaction.

He was staring down at the dummy. "Oh...", he breathed. "_Very_ good."

Taskforce members filled the corridor, effectively trapping him.

"You must have thought we were so stupid", Shinichi said again. Pandora giggled.

KID was surprised that he'd been tricked. Of course, it was a simple trick- but so simple that it would take someone clever to use it to their advantage. "I did", he said, acknowledging defeat. For now. "You got me on this one."

_"Thank you, KID",_ Angel said through the earpiece, obviously taking it as a compliment._ "But I have a question for you: surely you didn't think Nakamori-san would be stupid enough to give me away?"_

KID shrugged. "With Nakamori, it's hard to tell."

Shinichi laughed as Nakamori growled. She could see him in the doorway, almost trembling with the need to launch himself at KID.

_"I shrugged just then, by the way",_ KID added. Shinichi wondered if he was trying to buy himself time.

"I know."

_"You still have cameras?"_

"Most are hidden. This all went as I wanted it to. You behaved just as anticipated. I'm actually quite proud of myself. It was a shame about Takamoto-kun, though."

_"He's only knocked out."_

"He will receive a reward... and bowl of ice cream." A few taskforce men laughed.

_"Ice cream?"_

"Chocolate."

**Your mother used to give that to you, right?, **Pandora said, rifling through her memories. **Whenever you hurt yourself badly? Sort of like a family tradition.**

_"I envy him."_

"I expect you would. After all, anyone would prefer a bowl of ice cream to what you're about to go through, hmm?", Shinichi said sweetly. "Nakamori-san, I did my job. I'll be leaving now."

_"You do that, Angel",_ Nakamori said, advancing slowly on KID.

_"Don't you want to see me captured?",_ KID asked 'Angel', eyeing Nakamori with a grin.

"Not much point, since I doubt that will happen. You will no doubt cause loud and colourful chaos, and escape in the confusion. And when the smoke has cleared, and the gunk and glitter has been rubbed out of the eyes, it will be discovered that you have left the gem somewhere it will be easily seen, with a note stating that it was not the jewel you seek."

KID grinned and took out a few smoke bombs. _"Well, I can hardly let you down now you've said that, can I?"_

"Toodles, KID."

_"Until next time, meitantei-Angel."_

Pandora squealed excitedly. Shinichi got the feeling that it was clapping imaginary hands.

And, as Shinichi had predicted, colourful chaos ensued.

* * *

Shinichi took out her earpiece as she exited the building.

"I got an upgrade!", she grinned happily.

**How do you mean?**

"From tantei-chan to meitantei-Angel", she laughed as she hailed a passing cab. "I _must_ be getting good!"

* * *

I probably won't be able to update within the next few days, so... Happy New Year! :)

Please review! Reviews are awesome!  
Also, what do you think about Shinichi as Angel? I kinda liked the sound of that as a code name, so I gave it to her :)

Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 14 of Moonlight Magician! :D


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Shinichi laid back in bed and thought. About Ran, in particular.

She had called Ran a few hours previously to tell her that she was finally home... and that she had something to tell her.

Her answer, not that she had told Ran that.

Shinichi was nervous. Her stomach was twisting itself into knots.

**This Ran girl...**, Pandora said, interrupting Shinichi's thoughts, **she's your childhood friend, right?**

"Right."

**But you like her, right?**

Shinichi understood that the 'like' Pandora was accusing her of wasn't the more innocent type. "Well, I used to like her. But now she's more of a friend. I still like her, but not in that way."

**But you like Kaito as well?**

"Yes."

**I don't understand. **Pandora sounded perplexed.** How can you like someone then like someone else but still like that person while at the same time not? It's too confusing.**

Shinichi was curious despite herself. "Haven't you ever been in love. Like, have you ever felt affection for someone?"

**No. How can I? I am just a stone. I do not have those feelings.**

"But you feel emotions?"

**Emotions are a trait that I have picked up from humans over the years. You cannot live inside someone's head for a long time without becoming a little like them also.**

"Oh. I wonder who you picked up your freakish powers of annoyability from then?"

**Shut the hell up and tell me about you and Ran**, Pandora snapped.

Shinichi grinned. "There's nothing much to it. People fall in and out of love. It happens all the time."

**Oh, come on. There's more to it than that.**

"There is."

**Tell me. I want to know the whole story.**

"Can't you just look through my memories?"

**I could. But it would be much more interesting hearing it from you. I'd like to hear it from _your_ point of view.**

"Well... okay. But it's like I told you, there's nothing much to it. Ran's been my friend my whole life. We've known each other for years. And as we grew up, I sort of gradually realized that I had feelings for her. Like, I was attracted to her. It wasn't sudden or anything, I just slowly came to the point when I realized what it was I felt for her. But that all crumbled when I met KID", she added ruefully. "Now I like him, the attraction I felt for Ran just... faded. I still like her, as a person, but I no longer feel attracted to her."

**But you still liked her at some point, right? So, does that mean you're gay or something? Like, a lesbian?**

"Well, if you'd asked me that a few years ago, I would have probably said yes. But now... I don't know. I guess I'm bisexual or something? Or I was just going through a phase and misread my friendship with Ran as something more. Something like that."

It was nice talking about these things to Pandora. The jewel didn't seem to get embarrassed, which enabled Shinichi to discuss her love life with it freely.

**Did people know about your feelings for each other?**, Pandora asked. It didn't bother asking if Ran returned Shinichi's feelings. The answer was obvious.

"Oh yes. I would think that everybody worked it out eventually."

**And they accepted it?**

"Yeah. Nobody acted any differently towards us. In fact, they probably realized it before we did."

Pandora was silent for a moment.** And you're gonna tell her your true feelings towards her tomorrow?**

"Yeah."

**What will you say?**

"I don't really know. Every time I think about it, my mind just hits a wall."

**You've got to have a plan.**

"I_ said_ I don't know!"

**If you don't have a plan, then it could all go to bits. You could lose your friendship with Ran, and your friends could get angry at you for hurting her, and Kogorou would probably kill you-** Pandora stopped as Shinichi put her hands over her ears and rolled over onto her front. **Shinichi? Hey, Shinichi.**

Shinichi gave no response.

Pandora stared at her, unaccustomed to the small tinge of guilt that was slowly worming its way in. **... Sorry.  
**

"S'okay", Shinichi mumbled.

Pandora thought desperately for a change of topic.** Lets eat something cheesy tomorrow. I like cheese.**

"Cheese on toast?"

**Yeah!** Pandora was relieved when Shinichi rolled back over and began to talk to it again. **Jesus**, it muttered, **I _must_ like this human.** It couldn't remember _ever_ having to apologize for anything.

"What was that?"

**Nothing, nothing. So, cheese on toast, yeah?**

* * *

Kaito huffed and glared at the newspaper he was reading in annoyance. The front page, and the next couple of pages onwards were dedicated to his latest heist, which usually made him happy.  
But not when most of the article was a dominated by Nakamori gloating about his apparent 'triumph over KID'!

Kaito couldn't help finding it odd though, that there had been no proper mention of Angel. Just a vague, half-hearted sentence that the 'special unit' assigned to capture him had been assisted by an 'unnamed investigator'.

He glared fiercely at the newspaper. Who was Angel?! The mystery was driving him crazy!  
There was a possibility that Angel was that Shinichi Kudo person that Aoko had mentioned... except he had no definite proof that the person he had met in that café had actually been Kudo. For all he knew, 'Sonoko Kyogoku' had the same initials as Shinichi Kudo. Perhaps she was just a girl with matching initials and dreams. And besides, wasn't Shinichi Kudo a big detective? Surely there would have been a bigger mention of her- no, a whole article about her- if she had been involved in his heist?

In fact, the real Angel was probably someone he had never even heard of. But there was only one way to find out- meet Angel and confront her face-to-face!

* * *

Sonoko leaned against the wall, glaring so fiercely that every passer-by adverted their eyes and hurried away. On the other side of the wall, just around the corner, Shinichi was giving Ran what Ran had called her 'answer'. Either a confession or a refusal. Sonoko gritted her teeth. If Shinichi dared hurt Ran...

After an agonizing ten minutes, Ran came around the corner. She was crying.

"Ran!" Sonoko hurried towards her and hugged her protectively. "Did she upset you? That bitch! When I see her, I'll-"

"No!", Ran exclaimed, catching Sonoko before she could go after Shinichi. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "Don't! It's alright, I'm okay. She didn't upset me."

"Then why are you crying?" Sonoko stared at her anxiously.

"She- she was so nice. I thought it would be horrible to be rejected, but it wasn't. I'm sad, of course. But it's okay."

* * *

Shinichi listened with growing annoyance at the sniffs and hiccups in her head.

**That was so beautiful!**, Pandora bawled.

"Really?", Shinichi said critically. "I was under the impression that I made rather a mess of it."

**No, it was the kindest rejection I have ever heard. And when you said she was beautiful inside and out and that the pain would stop eventually, and that she would definitely find someone wonderful-oh, I wish you could've taped it! It was brilliant!**

"No, because taping it would have been callous. And weird."

Shinichi's phone rang then, causing them both to jump. Pandora _literally_ jumped, causing the necklace holding its stone to twitch, and a sharp white light to flash before Shinichi's eyeballs. She hissed and clapped a hand over her eyes.

**Sorry!**

"Hello?", Shinichi said loudly, drowning out Pandora's apology.

_"Kudo? It's Takamoto. From the taskforce."_

"Oh, hi Takamoto-kun! Are you feeling better now? Did you get the ice cream I sent you?"

_"Yeah. Thank you for it."_

"That's okay! So, what's up?"

_"We got another heist note from KID. We, er... can't figure it out."_

Shinichi was very silent for a few seconds, and Pandora grinned. It knew that Shinichi was holding herself back from saying something sarcastic, like, "You can't figure it out? Well, _there's_ a surprise", or, "And after I work it out, I'll get a job juggling snowballs through hell."  
Pandora could feel Shinichi's slight frustration at the taskforce, who were unable to do the things she found so easy.

It was a hard life, being intelligent.

"Really?", Shinichi finally said, her voice strangled. "That was fast."

_"Yeah, tell me about it. It's only been, what, two or three days since the last one? Anyway, could you drop by? It would really help us out."_

"I'll be there in half an hour."

**So, Shinichi**, Pandora said as Takamoto hung up, **what were you_ really_ going to say?**

"If you stuck a broom up my arse, I could sweep the floor while I'm at it", Shinichi muttered.

Pandora gave a shriek of laughter. **That's a good one!**

* * *

Shinichi stared at the small, white card Nakamori had handed to her.

_Will you climb the spine of Atlas to find the silver sparkling stars?  
__Kaitou KID _*doodle*

"Spine of Atlas?", Shinichi murmured.

**Whassat mean?**

Shinichi gave a shrug, small enough not to attract any attention. Then, a thought occurred to her. "KID always puts the location and objective of the heist. So in this case, 'spine of Atlas' must describe the location, and 'silver sparkling stars' must mean the objective.

So... Atlas. Atlas... a major figure in Greek mythology. A titan who sided against the Olympians during a celestial war, and whose punishment was to always hold up the sky to prevent it from crushing the world. So, if this is talking about the location of the heist, then the building will have to be tall... a skyscraper? But what about the spine part? It must be something to narrow down the search..."

Nakamori watched Shinichi mutter to herself as she slowly began to solve the riddle. She began to scribble on a piece of paper. So _this_ was the Detective of the East at work...  
He suddenly became aware that most of the office had stopped to watch.

Shinichi slammed her hand down on the table triumphantly, making him jump. "Got it!", she announced. "The heist will be held at the Stargazer at around 7:00 to 12:00 tonight. The objective is Silver Star, a large white diamond cut into the shape of a shooting star."

"How did you...?, Nakamori began.

"Like I said, the word 'spine' was the major hint. As you know, Japan is very prone to earthquakes, so exceptionally large buildings are a no-no. But recently, there have been buildings designed to to withstand the force of earthquakes, because they have one, very special feature- a strong length of metal through the middle of the building... a spine, almost. When an earthquake strikes, the building will not be knocked down by the force of it and fall- the metal spine will cause it to sway with the earthquake, lessening the chance of its destruction. Since this is a relatively new feature in the prevention of earthquake damage, there aren't many of them about... and there is only one that has any connection with stars- the Stargazer. One, it has a glass dome at the top specifically for stargazing, and two, it is also having a exhibition of major works of art connected with stars tonight- Silver Star is one of them." Shinichi finished her explanation and looked at Nakamori expecantly. "Was there anything else, Nakamori-san?"

"Er, no. No. You can go now, Kudo."

"Goodbye, Nakamori-san."

**I thought Nakamori was always rude to you as Christie**, Pandora said, as Shinichi exited the building.

"He was."

**Then why isn't be now? He never shouts at you- well, hardly.**

"That's because I've learnt a very valuable lesson", Shinichi said.

**Which is?**

"If you show someone respect, eight times out of ten, they will show it back to you. A little politeness never hurt."

**The taskforce show him respect, but he's never as nice to them as to you.**

"That's probably because they frustrate him. They never catch KID, despite the fact there's more of them than him. And, there's also the fact I'm a girl."

**I... don't understand.**

"There's a difference between boys and girls. If I were a boy, Nakamori would yell at me, pinch my cheek to the point of bruising me to check I'm not KID, and grumble that someone younger than him has such a great understanding of KID's actions. Whereas, since I'm a girl, he doesn't yell at me, doesn't pinch me too hard, doesn't grumble, at least not in my hearing. Girls are considered more delicate than boys, Pandora, so he wouldn't dare do those things to me for fear that I burst out crying or something. Men are very easy to to figure out", she added, and smiled evilly.

Pandora laughed.** So... what are you gonna do about this heist then?**

"Quite honestly... I have no idea. A sort of altered version of what I normally do?"

**Which is?**

"Well, usually, I watch the heist from the crowds, I work out his trick, I go to the place he's most likely to escape from, I confront him, and one of us leaves with the jewel."

**But he always escapes?**

"Yeah. Getting a hold of him is like trying to put an angry octopus into a drawstring bag."

**What's the altered version of what you normally do then?**

"Replace myself with the taskforce, I guess. I do the thinking, figure out the trick, work out his escape route, and send the taskforce after him."

**But don't you want to go after him yourself?**

"Yeah, I'd like nothing better. But I can't. I can hardly run like this, can I?" She gestured down at her starved body.

**You've filled out a little. And all that exercising you've been doing must be helping.**

"While it's true that I've gotten a little fuller and stronger, it doesn't cancel out the fact that I'm too weak to ever have a chance to get near him. I may be stronger, but I'm not strong enough to catch up with him if he runs full out or anything. My body is ruined, and it'll take a while before I can get it back to normal. Besides... there's another reason."

**What is it?**

"We've been doing a pretty good job of keeping my name out of the papers. Sure, there's a rumor that I'm back, but a rumor is just a rumor- hardly solid evidence that I'm still alive. But what if I were to go after KID, and he sees my face? What if a reporter snaps a shot of KID in action and accidentally includes my face in it? Who do you think will find this information the most useful?"

Pandora gasped as it finally caught on.** The Black Organisation!**

"Exactly. The moment that there is absolute proof that I'm alive, they will come after me, and my friends, my family, everybody they think I have had contact with, even KID, will be put into danger."

**But I thought you wanted them to come find you?**

"It's not that I _want_ it. What I want is to catch them, to erase the shadow hanging over my life. But I'm unwilling to put people in danger over me. I'll lay low for a while, build up my strength, get in touch with the FBI, the CIA, anyone who would be willing to involve me to catch them. I want to catch them, but for now, I need a breather. I've been hiding from them for two years- I think I deserve a break."

**Is that why you have the taskforce call you Angel?**

"Yeah. It's better if they don't broadcast that I'm involved in the heists. And I wouldn't put it past KID to put me down in a heist note, or literally call me out during a heist if he knew I'm involved. It's safer to be faceless Angel."

**That's... kinda noble. But, anyway, are you really just going to replace yourself with the taskforce at the heist?**

It took Shinichi a moment to realize that they were back to the plan for that night. Pandora had the attention span of a sauce pan. "Yeah, pretty much."

**That doesn't sound fun at all.**

"I know. But I'm _really_ not in the mood to think of something complex right now."

**You do realize that the taskforce will mess it up, right?**, Pandora said.** I know you think that having more people might help, but it really won't. KID will just let loose a dummy or something at watch them chase it from the room. It will be a complete and utter disaster. They will fail miserably.**

"I know", Shinichi sighed. "But I honestly can't think of anything at such short notice-" She paused, then a wicked grin spread across her face. "No, wait. I _can_."

**What? What is it? What have you thought of? Why have you got that look on your face? Tell me!**

Shinichi explained her plan to the jewel, and winced as it shrieked with laughter. **Oh my God! That's brilliant! That isn't a plan to catch KID, it's just a plan to piss him off!**

"I know! Should we do it?"

**Yes! You can't waste an opportunity like this!**

Shinichi grinned and took out her phone. She dialed Sonoko's number. "Hey, Sonoko? I have a question to ask you..."

* * *

My heist note riddles suck...  
Thanks to the band Otep, in particular for their song Buried Alive, you helped me come up with the riddle :)

Also, you know how Kaito has doves? Does anyone know their names? Do they even _have_ names? I'd be very grateful if anyone could tell me :)

I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 15 of Moonlight Magician! I'll try my best to update before the end of my Christmas Holidays, before my school work and such get too heavy for me to update as much as usual :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Shinichi looked up through thick panes of glass at the stars above her. They sparkled like jewels laid out on black velvet.

She was on the top floor of the Stargazer, waiting for the heist to begin. She stood in the shadows, her hood up to hide her face. Fortunately, there were a great deal of shadows in a room lit only by a few twinkling lamps, the light from the display cases, and the fat full moon above them. The workers of the Stargazer sure did believe in atmosphere.

Shinichi liked the Stargazer. The first floor was the reception area. The next few floors were hotel rooms. Then came a shopping centre spanning at least three more floors. Then came restaurants. More hotel rooms. Then, two floors worth of entertainment rooms. A bar. Then, finally, the glass dome, the stargazing room. The dome was divided into four large rooms- going clockwise, a room that used to be some sort of dining area, now cleared for the display cases, a room specifically for stargazing (dimmed lights, a balcony from which small, cheap telescopes were mounted), some sort of café, currently closed to the public, and another stargazing room. The building was currently Tokyo's biggest tourist attraction- a hotel, shopping centre, restaurant, and arcade all rolled into one.

Takamoto popped up beside Shinichi, making her jump. He handed her a bottle of cola, bought from the bar in the room below them. She accepted it gratefully.  
Takamoto was a nice guy, and she enjoyed his company. It was nice having him as a friend. Although, now she thought about it, she really didn't seem to have all that many.

"Thanks", she said, and took a swig. Three hours of standing in one place while staring fixedly at a display case across the room had started to take its toll long ago.

"Why are you all the way down here?", he asked. "I would've expected someone as keen as you to be over there with the rest of us, instead of watching the jewel from a distance." He nodded towards the display case, which was being guarded terribly by Nakamori and the taskforce.

Shinichi shook her head. "I'd rather stay out of sight. I have no wish to be pranked by KID tonight. Or any other night, for that matter."

"Neither have I. Perhaps I'll stay here with you."

Shinichi laughed.

"Kudo?", Takamoto said. "Do you reckon we'll ever catch KID?"

Shinichi hesitated. "Quite honestly... no. He has too many tricks up his sleeve. The best you can hope for is stop him from making off with any jewels."

"Good", Takamoto said, exhaling. "I'm not the only one who thinks so then. But, you never know", he added optimistically, "his luck might run out eventually. And when it does, I'll be there, waiting with a pair of handcuffs and a nice warm prison cell."

_And I'll be right behind you_, Shinichi thought, _with my tranquilizer watch aimed at your head._ Outsmarting KID was one thing; arresting him was quite another.

Out loud, she said, "For the sake of Nakamori's blood pressure, I hope that day comes soon."

Takamoto's laugh cut off abruptly as the lights dimmed. Without another word, he hurried off towards the display case, leaving Shinichi alone.

Something stirred behind Shinichi's eyes.

**That was a bit rude**, Pandora grumbled, referring to Takamoto's abrupt departure.

_He has a job to do_, Shinichi answered calmly. _Now shush, I think the heist is about to start._

There was a little silence, and Shinichi sensed Pandora focus on something. It seemed to grin. **I know something that you don't know**, the jewel sang softly.

_Pandora, I don't have time for games right now._

Her own hand rose and tried to smack her in the face. She caught it before it made contact and forced it back by her side again.

**Listen to me!**

_I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that again?_, Shinichi growled.

**Yes, but listeeen!**, Pandora wailed.

Shinichi scanned the room. Still no sign of KID. _Okay, what?_

**I know who KID is! I spotted him!**

_Well done. Have an imaginary sticker._

**It's-**

_Don't tell me! I want to figure it out myself._

**It's too late now**, Pandora pointed out. **KID's gonna appear pretty soon. Why don't I just tell you? It won't make any difference anyway- it was basically you who worked it out in the first place.**

Shinichi was puzzled. _I did?_

**Yeah. I used the skills I learnt from Toichi to work out what type of person KID would dress as, and used what I've learnt from you to gather visual evidence that she is KID.**

_She?_

**That red-head standing behind the display case.**

Shinichi studied the red-haired woman for a few seconds. _Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. Definitely KID. But back to what you were saying, how do you mean it was me who worked it out in the first place?_

**You'd already worked out KID's disguise subconsciously, so I just watched your thoughts and figured out if you were correct. So, it was basically you who worked it out first. Although, now I think of it, most people would say that I am you.**

Conversation halted throughout the room as a light appeared above the crowds, at the centre of the dome.

_How do you mean?_, Shinichi asked, her eyes fixed on the light. She moved further back into the shadows.

**I see what you see. I feel what you feel... to an extent. I am literally another personality inside your head. Just not _from_ your head.**

_But you're not me._

**I don't have to be. Many people with second personalities find that the nature of the other personality is the complete opposite of themselves. I share your memories. I share your body. I am your other personality.**

There was a short silence as they both absorbed this. Shinichi kept her eyes on the ball of light below the dome. It had grown bigger and was pulsing gently.

**Ha!**, Pandora barked suddenly.** Shinichi Kudo has a multiple personality disorder! Hahahahaha!**

_Thank you, Pandora. You've really made my day._

Pandora laughed louder in response.

The ball of light at the ceiling exploded. It exploded into lots of little copies of itself which doubled as they hit one another, multiplying by the second. They stopped being rounded and grew points, until each was a perfect little star shape, cartwheeling around the room, bouncing off of the walls, filling the room with their brilliancy.

The audience _ooh_ed and _aah_ed, and applauded the display. The stars stopped multiplying and bouncing around randomly, and instead all began to converge on one space- the display case that held the Silver Star. They began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster until they became one long, tall, bright tornado. The taskforce stumbled away from it, squinting against the retina-searing light.

As suddenly as they had come, the spinning stars vanished... leaving KID standing in their place. In one hand was the Silver Star. In the other was a white gun. KID offered a bow to the squealing, screaming crowd, aimed the gun at the ceiling, and fired. A grappling hook shot out from the gun, and attached itself to one of the metal beams crossing the dome. KID saluted Nakamori mockingly, and swung away. At the height of the swing, the hook was retracted, and KID dropped down somewhere among the crowd.

Before going after him, Nakamori looked across the room towards Shinichi. She held up two fingers and pointed to the direction KID had travelled in, then drew a circle in the air and pointed towards the opposite direction. She took a few steps back into the shadows and faded from sight.

Nakamori sent two men into the direction KID had run in, and took the rest with him in the opposite direction.

* * *

KID entered the room, unnoticed. He grinned, seeing no-one chasing after him. Looked like Angel had fallen for his trick.

Before him was an empty room, with two glass doors that opened up onto a large balcony lined with telescopes. It was from that balcony that KID intended to make his escape.

As he sauntered forwards, the door he had just come through and another one further on opened. Beyond them hung an excited, breathless silence. In the dim light, he could make out countless silhouettes.

"Go get him, girls", a voice said into the silence- Angel's voice.

"KID!", screamed what seemed like hundreds of female voices at once.

The lights came on, and KID only had seconds to register a huge crowd of people stampeding towards him before they swamped him completely.

"KID, I love you!"

"Ohmigodohmigodohmigodohmigod -"

"I touched KID! _I touched KID!"_

"KID!", screamed a male voice to his left. It was a chubby man, wearing nothing but a pair of tight jeans and a purple feather boa. "I want to have your babies!"

KID adverted his eyes hurriedly.

Shinichi grinned happily at the chaos she had caused. Then, not content with just grinning at it, she took out her mobile and began filming it.

Someone tapped her shoulder. She turned to see Nakamori glaring at her.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on? And why did you send us off into completely the wrong direction?"

Shinichi beamed at him. "Certainly!", she said brightly. "As you know, we are in the North stargazing room. The other one is facing South. KID's original plan was to swing towards the North stargazing room on his grappling hook, while actually planning to escape from the South. This would be good, as it would trick you into thinking he would escape in this room, when his actual plan was to escape in another. But he knew that I, Angel, would be here, and would see through his little trick immediately, so he altered it a little. He knew that I would work out what he was up to, and send you towards the South room to intercept him. So, he decided to just escape from the North room anyway. You would go off in the wrong direction, giving him time to escape. I sent you off in the wrong direction on purpose, since it would make it look as if we had fallen for his trick. A bit like reverse psychology, really."

She went back to her filming.

"I see. So... what's all this?", Nakamori asked, gesturing towards the writhing crowd. He felt slightly ashamed for needing a second explanation.

"I have a friend called Sonoko. She's a big Kaitou KID fan. I asked her to gather every KID fan she knew to come here and glomp him. They do a much better task of holding him down than the taskforce do, I must say. Hold this for a moment." She handed her phone to Nakamori and waded into the crowd.

After much pushing and shoving, Shinichi found herself standing right behind KID. She wrapped her arms around him- partly to keep herself from getting pushed backwards through the crowd, and partly just for the heck of it. KID didn't seem to notice at first, too busy fending off grabs at his top hat and monocle.

"Hello, Kaitou KID."

She felt him stiffen. "Angel."

"I need that jewel back now... or were you planning on keeping it?"

Actually, KID had been planning to hold it hostage in return for a look at Angel's face. But he wasn't going to say that. He judged from the laugh in her voice that she already had a suspicion of it anyway.

One arm- strangely delicate, KID realized- detached itself from around him to grip his wrist. He tried to turn, but the pushing, shoving crowd was too thick. She drew his wrist out, where it was promptly grabbed by several hands and sucked into the crowd. He tried to pull it back, to no avail.

She did the same to his other arm before he could pull away. A small, frizzy-haired girl hugged his arm possessively, and tried to pull his glove off. He clenched his hand to stop her. The feather boa man lunged out of nowhere and tried to pull his arm out of the girl's grip. She turned and bit him.

In the dark recesses of their shared brain, Shinichi and Pandora looked at each other and shrugged.

"Your fans are scary", Shinichi said. She fumbled with his front pockets from behind and realized that the jewel was probably in an inside pocket. Damn, she'd have to go in front of him to reach them.

"I know", KID muttered, trying to free his arms in vain. "I don't suppose this is your doing?"

He watched as Angel came to stand in front of him, a short figure in a baggy grey hoodie. The hood was up and hid all but her mouth, chin, throat, and a few locks of blond hair from view.

"Yes, it is", she answered. He tried to jerk away as she opened up his jacket, but she took a hold of his tie to hold him in place. Just as she reached towards his pocket, she hesitated. "You haven't got a mousetrap or anything like that in here, have you?"

"No. What if I set it off accidentally?" But he _did_ have a sleeping gas squirter in his collar. Now, if only he could get one of his hands free...

He watched as she pulled a piece of plastic broccoli from his pocket, stared at it quizzically, shrugged, and returned it.

"How did you figure out my trick?", he asked, staring at her intently.

"Easy. It was exactly the type of thing I would have done. Aha!" This last exclamation was accompanied by her pulling the Silver Star out of one of his pockets with a flourish. "Well, my work here is done."

"Who are you?"

"None of your beeswax."

"Sonoko Kyogoku?", he asked, watching for a telltale reaction.

Angel seemed puzzled. "Sonoko? If you're looking for a Sonoko, there's one right down there." She pointed through the crowd to where a shiny, light brown head could be seen pushing its way through the crowd with a determined air. "Although if I were you, I wouldn't wait around for her. She's a bit scary."

"Shinichi Kudo?"

"What, the Detective of the East? If I were her, wouldn't I be all over the headlines by now?"

_"Who are you?"_

"Curiosity killed the cat, Kaitou KID."

"That's exactly what Christie said", KID muttered, not meaning for her to hear him.

Angel went very still. KID stared at her.

"Do you know Christie?"

"Christie?"

"Yes."

"Christie Edogawa?"

"Yeah!"

"Blonde Christie Edogawa? The one who has people chasing after her? The one who disappeared? The one who knows what you're after? The one who you're very desperately trying to find? That Christie Edogawa?"

"... Yeah."

Angel's sudden grin was startling and frustrating."No, I don't know her. Sorry, doesn't ring any bells."

"I'll find out who you are", KID vowed.

Angel clapped her hands together. "Great! But I don't think I've given you enough motivation to come after me with all your might."

"Give it a few more heists", KID muttered.

"Or thirty more seconds." Angel rummaged in her pocket and came out holding a black pen. KID looked at it suspiciously.

"What are you doing?", he said, as she began to unbutton his white shirt.

"Yooou'll see", she said, as she untied his violet necktie.

Thirty seconds later, she stared down at her work proudly. She had drawn the KID caricature on his chest... and signed 'Angel' under it in big, bold letters.

"You are so paying for this", KID glared.

Angel tied his necktie around her own neck, blew him a kiss, and screamed, "OH MY GOD! Kaitou KID's bare chest! I TOUCHED Kaitou KID's bare chest! Come look, everybody!" Then, she reached into the crowd, grabbed a hold of Sonoko, pushed her towards KID, and disappeared as the crowd surged.

KID tried to push the crowd off him, failed utterly, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Angel was going to _pay..._

Outside the crowd, Shinichi walked up to Nakamori while tucking the tie out of sight, and handed him Silver Star. Then, she went home.

* * *

Shinichi shut the front door behind her and looked at herself in the hallway mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes stood out vividly in her face.

**Shinichi?**, Pandora said, its voice quivering.

"Yeah?"

**We have _got_ to do that again!**

* * *

Well, that was fun :)

I'm not kidding, I have actually seen crazy fans like that feather boa man and the frizzy-haired girl, so it's not just my freaky imagination at work here O.O

Please review! And if any of you guys know the names of Kaitou KID's doves- and also how many there are, forgot to ask that before- I would be very grateful.

Thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 16 of Moonlight Magician! :D


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_Shinichi's growth slowed and stopped. She stood up straight, marveling at how far away the ground now seemed. She noticed with vague interest that her clothes seemed to have grown with her, but didn't give it much thought- this _was_ a dream, after all._

_She looked at the bird cage. She was taller than it now. She reached out to open it, then stopped when she saw that the doors were being held shut by some intricate, ornate lock.  
She had never seen a lock like it. A metal snake, twisting and curling around the doors of the cage, making it impossible to open._

_Snake._

_Shinichi knew what she had to do._

* * *

Hakuba leaned back in his seat and watched Kaito carefully. So did the majority of the class.

The reason for this was the look on his face. It was his infamous 'I'm thinking up a humiliating prank' look. That look was a fear-inducing, bowl-clenchingly, heart-hammeringly terrifying frown.  
To anyone who didn't know Kaito Kuroba, the expression was just a normal, thoughtful scrunching of the eyebrows. To those who did, this expression was worse than coming home from school to find an alligator in their front rooms.

Kaito, still deep in thought, allowed his eyes wander around the classroom. They lingered on the teacher, who stammered and shook under his gaze, then, to her relief, moved on. He grinned suddenly, causing most of the class to flinch, then brought a notebook out from inside his bag and began to scribble in it.

The class relaxed. The notebook was good. It meant the trick was something he had only just thought of and had to plan, instead of trying it out on them immediately.

All hail the notebook.

* * *

Shinichi watched the screen in appalled silence, shaking her head. Terrible. The taskforce were _terrible._ How on earth did they ever manage to get employed?

The reason for her distress was that she had looked away from the screen for two seconds, just_ two seconds_, and in that time, several taskforce men had run into traps.

Traps they had been previously forewarned about, to add insult to injury.

She looked at the white figure on one of the screens, contemplating weeping for the doomed future of the human race.  
KID's next comment told her that had already been taken care of.

_"I weep for you",_ he told her through another pilfered earpiece, leaping over a fallen taskforce.

_"SHUT UP!"_

_"Touchy, Nakamori-keibu!"_

Shinichi shifted in her seat, uncomfortably aware of how close KID was to the room she was in. The situation wasn't helped by Pandora's voice urging her to _run, run, **RUN Shinichi, he's getting closer, remember he wants to destroy me, why aren't you running, hey, are you listening to**** me-**_

"Shut up", she said.

There was a wounded silence from KID, Nakamroi, and Pandora.

"Now I can hear myself think", she began, then broke off. "No! Hiromu! Duck! Duck under that- IT'S A TRAP, YOU FOOL- oh no", she groaned. "I told you so. Didn't I tell you so?"

_"Sorry, Angel",_ Hiromu said sheepishly.

KID, listening through his earpiece, grinning. Poor Angel. He wondered what it must be like to be smart while surrounded by idiots. "Terrible, aren't they?", he smirked. Seeing no one on his tail, he stopped and took a breather.

_"KID is in corridor twenty four"_, Angel said, ignoring him. _"Switch to emergency earpieces."_

KID stared incredulously at the nearest camera. "You have _emergency earpieces?_ I was wondering why this heist was exactly the same as the other one!"

_"Nakamori, twenty paces ahead of you is a trap. Jump to avoid it. Has everybody switched earpieces? No? Hurry up then."_

"Angel? Angel? Hello?" KID waved at the camera. "Damn it, meitantei-chan, don't ignore me!"

_"I'm not ignoring you",_ she answered. Her voice was muffled, like her mouth was full. _"I'm just choosing not to respond."_

"Are you eating?"

_"So what if I am?",_ she responded defensively. _"I skipped lunch for this heist. What's it to you?"_ KID opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by her saying, _"Is everybody ready? Yes? Earpieces on."_

The sounds of footsteps, huffing, and yelps as people ran into traps abruptly disappeared from his earpiece.

He stood still for a moment, listening for any sign of life. "Meitantei-chan? You there?"

_"Yeah?"_ The sound of her voice startled him.

"Why did you leave my earpiece on? You like the sound of my voice that much?", he teased.

_"Oh, yes. Like music to my ears, it is. No, I think it's better to keep your earpiece on."_

"Why?"

_"I don't know. Maybe I can send a couple of thousand volts down it and electrocute you."_

He looked wounded. "That wasn't funny."

_"Well, I found it funny. Do you know what else I find funny? How easily I can make you drop your poker face."_

KID ignored her comment. "I'm planning a big heist for you."

_"Really?" _Her tone became a little more interested..

"Yes. A big, humiliating heist. During which I will uncover your true identity and embarrass you publicly." His grin became a little evil as Angel failed to reply. "Are you_ scared_, meitantei-chan?"

_"Are you scared, KID?",_ she countered. _"What if your plan backfired and I were to unmask you instead? You'd go to jail."_

KID laughed. "I'd like to see you try! No bars can hold me!"

Shinichi grinned at the camera screen.

"I'll catch you", she said. She could see him walking down the corridor as if he had all the time in the world. She knew he was keeping her talking while he tried to find her. "Just not in the way you think. These aren't bars you can escape from."

**Rowr**, said Pandora, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until then.

"Ooh, really?", KID said. "You're pretty confident, Angel. We'll see who catches who first." He went to go through a doorway, hesitated, and took out the corridor's camera.

_"Did you just destroy another camera?",_ Angel said. _"Do you know how much those things cost__? I mean, it won't be me paying for their repairs, but still. Can't you just stick something over them or something?"_

KID picked up speed as he heard footsteps in the distance. Taking advantage of Angel's blind spot, he took the opportunity to lay a few traps. "These cameras aren't yours?"

_"No."_

"Weren't the ones at that heist back then yours?"

_"A few. I had them wired to my laptop. Why?"_

KID once again lost his pursuers and stopped to think. At the heist where he first met Angel, the building he chose had been small enough to only house a few cameras, which was presumably why Angel had had to bring her own. And only those that were hers could have been wired to her laptop, since she had successfully led him into the building's security camera room.  
But a building as large as the one he was in now had so many cameras that it would be stupid to bring any more. There was no need for it. And the only way that Angel could watch the whole building through so many cameras would be in a place where the views of all of them could be seen. One laptop, or even ten laptops wouldn't cut it. Angel must be in this building's security camera room.

He grinned to himself. Gotcha.

* * *

Shinichi peered at the camera screen and took a bite out of her sandwich.

"KID's in corridor five", she informed the taskforce.

They began to converge of KID, alternately avoiding and tripping traps as they went.

Pandora laughed as someone tripped a trap that dropped a paint bomb on his head. **Yep, that's Toichi's son alright. Didn't even see it coming.**

Shinichi took out her two earpieces to speak with the jewel. "What was Toichi like, exactly?", she asked, her interest piqued.

**What do you mean? You knew him when he was alive.**

"Yes, Pandora. Eight years ago. The memory tends to fade. Besides, it was my parents who knew him, not me. I only saw him occasionally."

**What_ do_ you remember about him?**

"The constant feeling of irritation he always left me with."

Pandora laughed. **It's true he was annoying... I'll tell you about it when we get home. And maybe you could drink some hot chocolate with cream for me as payment?**

"That stuff is revolting. I wish you'd stop using my body to taste stuff."

**How can I not? None of my other guardians were ever as nice as you. They'd just put me in a box and reason that they were protecting me. Please, Shinichi?**

"Alright", Shinichi said reluctantly. But now she had another question. "That night that Toichi... died. Why did you suddenly blank out like that?" She was aware that she had shaped the question rather bluntly, but Pandora was the king of awkward questions and wasn't likely to take offence.

**We died**, Pandora stated quietly.

"Died", Shinichi repeated flatly.

**Yeah. Or, rather, Toichi died and I got to sample the sensations. It was horrible. Everything went wrong, and there was fire all around us, and we were _burning_, Shinichi. And I tried to take the pain away from Toichi, but there was too much of it... and then... we died**, Pandora finished.

"What was dying _like?"_

**I only got to feel the first bit, through Toichi. When your body stops working, and you feel yourself fading away. It... well, it's easier for me to show you. Here, I'll try to dampen down the effects-**

And suddenly Shinichi was lying on her back in a burning building, flames licking her body. The sensations were almost as worse as the ones she experienced while transforming. She was burning alive and couldn't even move to save herself. A doorway before her collapsed into flames and a ball of fire and hot air rolled out, lazily cartwheeling across the room, and soldered her eyes to her skull.

Her body went limp. Her heart stopped beating and her brain stopped functioning. There was a moment of complete and utter peace-

And Shinichi opened her eyes. She was on her back in the middle of the room, her chair lying a few paces away. She stared blankly up at the ceiling, only dimly aware of voices shouting her name, and gasped as her heart stuttered and restarted.

**Shinichi! Shinichi, are you okay? I'm _so_ sorry, I swear I didn't mean for that to happen-**

There were other people speaking to her too. Nakamori and a few taskforce men wanted to know why she had suddenly cut all communication. She reached over to the earpiece and gave them the lame excuse that she had fallen out of her chair.

KID, en route to Angel, frowned but stayed silent. He had heard more than the taskforce, seeing as his earpiece was closer to Shinichi when she experienced death. He had heard a gasp, an odd choking sound, a loud thud, and what sounded like something thrashing around. It had sounded more like Angel had had a seizure than fallen out of her chair.

Never mind, he was almost there now. If something had happened to her, he would soon be around to help. Although that meant that he would have to leave his revenge for another day. Damn. What an irresponsible detective!

Shinichi rolled over on her stomach and tried to get up. It was hard- her whole body seemed to be full of pins and needles, and her arms and legs were almost totally dead.  
What she saw on one of the screens almost made her topple straight over again. KID was dangerously close to the room she was in.

_It could just be a coincidence_, she thought hopefully.

KID grinned at the camera she was watching him in, allowing her to view a close-up of his face before the camera blacked out. No, he knew what he was doing. He'd worked out where she was.

"KID's in corridor twelve", she told the taskforce.

"But that's right next to-", Nakamori began.

"I know. I'm gonna try to get out while I still can. Look out for traps, and good luck with catching him-"

She broke off as a net fell from the ceiling and onto most of the taskforce.

"Never mind", she sighed. She looked at the cameras. KID was only a corridor away- no time to run. She looked around the darkened room, and crawled under one of the desks.

**Sorry**, Pandora said again. **It's my fault you can't move.**

"It's fine", Shinichi muttered, trying to shake some life into her limbs. They both fell silent as the door opened. She watched KID walk slowly past her.

KID looked around the room. It looked completely empty, but appearances were deceptive. He knew Angel wouldn't have been able to leave without him seeing or hearing her. He listened in his earpiece, wondering if it could give him a clue of her location, and noticed the other one lying on the floor nearby.

KID shrugged and took out his lock pick, locking the door behind him. He walked further into the room, looking with interest at all the camera screens. Nakamori and the majority of the taskforce were still stuck under one of his net traps, and the rest were lost without Angel to guide them.

"Oh, Angel", he sang, walking around to the other side of the room. "Come out, come out, wherever you are~"

Shinichi gritted her teeth. He was enjoying this- she could practically _hear_ his grin.. And he'd locked the door behind him!

Pandora said, **Remember what Professor Agasa gave us yesterday?**

KID heard the sound of something rolling, and turned to see what looked like a small egg rocking beside his ankle. It was white with green spots.  
As he frowned at it, it gave a small hiss and expelled green smoke into the room.

Under the cover of the smoke, Shinichi grabbed a paperclip off of the desk she was under and hurriedly unpicked the lock. The door swung open and she limped out into the hallway.

**I didn't know you could pick locks**, Pandora said, surprised.

"Toichi was a good teacher", Shinichi answered, hurrying out of the corridor.

**I wonder what KID will say when he unmasks you**, Pandora said. It appeared to be enjoying itself. **We meet again, Shinichi Kudo.**

"What makes you think he'll ever unmask me?"

**Shinichi, you are running from a world-famous thief. Your legs are dead and your brain is too frazzled for you to work out where you are. KID, on the other hand, has a perfect mental map of the whole building in his head, and his brain and limbs are all in working order. Face it, you're screwed.**

"Thank you ever so much, Pandora. I am now full of energy and resolve", Shinichi said in a monotone.

**You're welcome. But I can do something about your legs.**

There was moment where the pins and needles in her body intensified, then feeling rushed back into it. Shinichi staggered.

"How did you do that?", she breathed, examining her hands.

**I'm a magical stone, remember?**, Pandora reminded her cheerfully.

Shinichi snorted. "Thanks, Pandora." She turned to leave and walked straight into a trap.

* * *

KID walked out of the room and waved away the smoke that still clung to him. He went in pursuit of Angel, aware that she couldn't have gone far.  
He had only walked a few steps before he heard the quiet _poof_ of a trap activating. He grinned and picked up speed. Angel had walked into a trap. How ironic.

He turned the corner and almost walked into a cloud of white feathers. They were so dense that he couldn't even make out Angel inside.

As the feathers floated downwards, he frowned and took a step forwards. He could make out a little huddle on the floor, half buried under the feathers.

"Angel?", he said.

Her eyes were closed and her hood had fallen back to reveal her face. He couldn't help feeling surprised, even though he'd half-suspected her of being the famous Detective of the East anyway.

_Well well well. Didn't expect to see you here today, Shinichi Kudo._

KID crouched down beside her and felt around under her chin for a pulse. It was ridiculously fast, but at least she had one. He wondered if she really was prone to seizures.

Her eyes snapped open, and he found himself staring into them before she grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder.

He landed heavily on his back and his breath whooshed out of his lungs. Shinichi then crushed any remaining air out by straddling him and holding his wrists in her hands.

She spat a feather out and winced. "Jesus, you're heavy. I think I've dislocated my shoulder."

KID sucked in a lungful of air. "Shinichi Kudo."

"If you say 'we meet again', I'm going to thump you", she warned.

KID couldn't help grinning. "I liked the trick with the smoke bomb."

She winked at him. "I prefer mine to yours. My smoke tends to last longer."

"So", he said, "what is the great Shinichi Kudo doing attending Kaitou KID heists in secret? I thought you specialized in homicide?"

"I need a break from death and your heists are it", she said shortly.

"I'm flattered", he grinned, "but I won't go easy on you. I'm still going to pay you back for that little stunt you did at the last heist."

"I did you a favor!", Shinichi protested. "A good celebrity always interacts with his fans!"

"This celebrity doesn't appreciate being drawn on in indelible ink."

Her forehead creased. "It was indelible?"

"Yes."

"Whoops."

"This heist's not been very exciting though. Thought you could do better than this."

"If you hadn't given me short notice, I would have been able to. Besides", she added, "my job is to help the police catch you, not make your life more fun."

"How about I make your life more fun, then?", KID suggested. "Then you have a reason for doing it back."

Shinichi suddenly looked very suspicious, and very worried. "How do you mean?"

"Weeell, now I know your name, I can find out where you live-"

"Don't you dare", Shinichi said, knowing that this was precisely the wrong thing to say. "I mean, just don't tonight."

KID was curious. "Why not tonight?"

_Because I'm hoping that if you don't do it tonight, you'll forget about it tomorrow._

"I'm not in the mood. Any other night, I would be curious and might just possibly see the funny side. But if you do whatever you're planning on doing tonight, I'll just shoot you out of the sky next time we meet."

KID considered this. Pranks weren't fun if they didn't engender at least a little hilarity. "Alright then. But you can expect a prank or two the next time we meet."

"Yippee", she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"But now I have a question. How do you plan to get out of this?"

"What? This? What's 'this'?"

"This situation. The little pose we're in. Imagine if Nakamori were to find us like this... and my humiliating prank needn't wait until the next time we meet, you know." His grin became positively evil.

Shinichi got it. She couldn't let go of KID for a second as he would undoubtedly have his revenge on her at the speed of light, but she couldn't exactly stay as she was. She effectively trapped, a fact KID had had absolutely no trouble in picking up on.

"Take your time", Kaito said. "I have all night, after all."

Shinichi would have face-palmed herself if it didn't mean letting go of KID. "I _really_ didn't think this through", Shinichi muttered.

"You're right. You didn't", said KID happily. "Of course, we could just stay like this... if you're okay with Nakamori and the taskforce finding us. I'm alright with it myself, but I doubt you'd like it."

"Do you ever stop talking?", Shinichi wondered aloud.

"No", said KID, and rolled.

There was a few seconds during which everything went blurry, and she was flung onto her back. Shinichi blinked, realizing that it was she who was now pinned down.

**Well, that backfired pretty fast**, Pandora commented, to internal swearing from Shinichi.

KID frowned at her. "Holy chicken wings", he said, holding up one of her wrists. His hand easily went all the way around it. "I wondered why you were so light. Do you ever eat?"

Shinichi nodded. "I'm working on it", she said, trying to ignore Pandora fangirling/boying in a corner of her mind. She was having difficulty preventing herself from doing so as well. KID seemed to have that effect on girls, and having him pinning her to the ground probably ranked Number 1 on most people's fantasies.

KID grinned down at her. "Aw, meitantei-chan's blushing. How cute. Shall I make you blush some more?"

Shinichi blinked at him and felt her face heat up even further. "H-how?", she squeaked.

KID's grin widened. She really was cute. "Like this", he whispered, bringing his face closer to hers. He bent so that his face was at her neck, then slowly ran his nose down the side of it.

Shinichi felt her breath hitch in her throat. She knew he was just doing it to make her flustered, but he couldn't help reacting to it.

Then, she heard footsteps in the distance. She twitched and felt KID grin against her skin.

This couldn't be his revenge, could it? Allowing the taskforce to see her like that?

Hell no!, a voice- thankfully not Pandora's- yelped.

Gathering her strength, Shinichi arched her back and threw KID off of her. She stood and resisted the urge to brace herself against her knees. No need to broadcast the effect KID had on her. She straightened her back and raised her eyebrows. "Sorry, KID, we'll have to continue this next time. Oh, and if you could refrain yourself from mentioning me to anyone, I'd be very grateful. Toodles." She gave him and mock salute and ran towards the oncoming footsteps.

KID stood up and grinned. Well, that had been fun.

He turned and ran in the opposite direction of Shinichi, then stopped as he realized something was wrong. A weight that should have been in one of his inside pockets wasn't there anymore.

KID stood still for a moment, then face-palmed himself.

Shinichi passed the taskforce on the way out and nabbed Nakamori before he could disappear after KID. She handed him a large green stone- KID's objective for that night.

"How did you-?", Nakamori spluttered.

_Because not only was Toichi a good teacher in the area of lock-picking, but pick-pocketing too._ Shinichi shrugged. "I got lucky", was what she said instead.

She went home.

* * *

Shinichi sat in her library, deep in thought. She wondered how on earth she could make trying to catch KID fun. How did she manage it as Christie? KID seemed to expect more of her now she was big. And besides, wasn't being fun KID's job?

Her memory flashed back to yesterday evening, and she felt her cheeks heat up. He'd actually-

_Stop it! Concentrate!_

She tried to concentrate, and felt her cheeks heat up even further. She gave a most un-Shinichi like giggle, then got a hold of herself.  
She actually wasn't sure that she could pull of anything spectacular, especially not with Pandora fangirling in her head. Or was that fanboying?

Shinichi frowned.

"Pandora?"

**Yeah?**

"Do you actually have a sex?"

**Can I have sex?** Pandora sounded puzzled. **Shinichi, I think you're a wonderful girl, but-**

"No! I mean, are you a girl or a boy?"

**Oh, I see. Well, I guess I can say that I'm neither? Since I'm technically a stone. But I feel more like a girl.**

"How so?"

**Form shapes mind. I've been living in the body of a girl for eight years, with the same thoughts and emotions, so I feel more like a girl.**

An unpleasant thought entered Shinichi's mind. "Wait a second... Toichi was your last guardian, right? So does that mean that you were a boy when you met me?"

**Nope. Toichi wasn't really my guardian, since he only knew me for a matter of weeks. My last true guardian was a girl as well, so you're safe.**

"What happened to her?"

**She was shot in the head by Snake. That was how they came in possession of me.**

Shinichi frowned. "So this Snake organisation killed her?"

**No. Snake's just one person who works for an organisation. But yes, he killed her.**

"Well, at least he's just one person. It'll be easier to take him down."

**Hopefully.**

"And it's just as well you've the mindset of a girl. If you were a boy, I get the feeling you'd be gay."

**What?!**

"All that giggling and teasing and fangirling over KID... yup, definitely gay."

**Oh, shut up**, Pandora snapped.

"You'd probably have a Gok Wan lisp too."

**Shinichi, I swear to God-**

Shinichi laughed and stood as the doorbell rang. She opened the door and looked down. "Haibara."

Haibara handed her a box. "A few of Agasa's new inventions. Try them out on KID and tell us what happens. I think one of them is meant to be a bomb. Also, here's KID's card gun back."

Shinichi took the box and the gun and went back inside. She examined the contents of the box in fascinated silence.

KID wanted fun? She'd give him fun.

* * *

I almost combusted while writing that little scene between Shinichi and KID, since I've never really written romance before. My characters usually realize a boy likes them and beats them up in retaliation, so forgive me if this isn't really what you were expecting ^.^'

Again, if anyone knows the names and number of Kaito's doves, please tell me :)

Please review! Thank you for reading Chapter 17 of Moonlight Magician! :D


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Kaito almost choked when he and his friends went to the café that day to find Shinichi Kudo sitting at their usual booth. As the rest of the group chose the next booth along, he watched her warily, waiting for her to glance and recognise him. She didn't even look up from the table, and he took a closer look. She was just sitting there alone, with the largest mug of coffee he had ever seen in front of her. She stared into its depths with a troubled look on her face. It didn't look as if she had noticed him.

Kaito sat and continued to watch her discreetly. He wondered if he should strike up a conversation with her. He would like to see how she acted around strangers.

Akako frowned and shivered as Aoko and Hakuba went up to the till to order.

"Caught a chill?", Kaito asked her.

"No", she answered. "I just felt something weird."

"Weird how?"

"I don't know... but it's something I've felt before." She stared at Kaito for a moment, then snapped her fingers. Her face cleared. "I remember! Do you recall that day you bumped into that little girl? The one with the dark hair? I said she felt unnatural. I'm getting the same feeling I got then."

Kaito glanced around, looking for the girl. "From where? Where is it coming from?"

Akako shrugged. "I feel like it's all around us. I can't pinpoint it."

Kaito scanned the room. "Well, I can't see her here now. Try to ignore it."

Shinichi took a sip of her coffee. She wanted to leave but knew that it would draw attention to her if the girl's strange feeling disappeared when she did.

**Don't worry**, Pandora said. **The girl is very spiritually inclined. It's probably me she can sense.**

Shinichi shrugged. The fact that it was Pandora Kaito's friend could sense didn't change the situation any.

**I wonder ****just _how_ spiritually inclined she is?**, Pandora mused. **Do you want to test her, Shinichi?**

Shinichi shrugged again. _If you want. What do you plan on doing?_

**Wait and see**, Pandora said, snickering.

Shinichi frowned as something flickered in front of her. She looked up to see an exact copy of herself sitting in the seat opposite her. Its eyes were blank, without pupil nor iris, and they glowed red. It grinned at her and stuck out its tongue.

Shinichi gaped at it. "Pan-"

Pandora shook its head frantically and made a begging motion. **Please?**

Shinichi wavered, hesitant, then shrugged and looked away. Pandora grinned.

Akako, trying to explain the odd feeling to Kaito, glanced at the two at the table, and then did a double take. The second time she looked, there was only one Shinichi sitting at the booth. She frowned and peered at the blonde teenager, then shrugged and looked away.

Shinichi was having difficulty holding back a smile. She could hear Pandora giggling in her head.

Something flickered in the corner of Akako's eye, and she turned to see the second girl again. Only this time, she was floating half a metre above her chair.

Pandora met Akako's gaze and blinked at her innocently, allowing a second eyelid to slide open and shut over the first as well. Then, it grinned with teeth that were suddenly black, grimy, and triangular, and turned and vomited a bright green stream of gunk over the head of a passing waitress, who walked through it without seeming to notice.

Akako gaped at Pandora, who cackled and disappeared in a flash of red light. The gunk disappeared from the room.

Akako stared at the fading red light, then at Shinichi, who was still resolutely staring in the opposite direction. "You- you- you- you-"

Shinichi turned towards her and adopted a confused expression. "I'm sorry?"

"You- you- that- you-" Akako pointed to where Pandora had been levitating.

Kaito stared at his friend. He'd never seen her so agitated. She was usually as cool as ice. He looked at Shinichi for her reaction.

Shinichi followed Akako's gaze blankly, then turned back to her. "I'm sorry, I don't see what you're-"

"That was _you!_"

Shinichi surveyed Akoko, open-mouthed, then looked at Kaito. "... Is your friend okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay!", Akako snapped. "But you're not! You're being possessed!"

Shinichi looked helplessly at Kaito, who put his hand on Akako's shoulder. "Akako... calm down. Tell me what you saw."

"Er... if I'm upsetting your friend, I can leave", Shinichi said, making to get up. Pandora was cackling evilly at Akako's reaction.

"You don't have to", Kaito said, mentally begging Akako to stop glaring at her.

"It's alright", Shinichi mumbled, grabbing her bag and hurrying away.

**What happened to staying in order to avoid having attention drawn to you?**

_You seriously think I can drink my coffee with that girl glaring at me like that?_

The moment she left, Akako calmed down and sat up straight. "That odd feeling is gone. That girl must be being possessed. _That's_ what I could feel."

"What was what you could feel?", Aoko asked, as she and Hakuba returned from ordering.

Akako and Kaito glanced at each other.

"Nothing", Akako said.

* * *

Shinichi strode down the road, berating Pandora in her head. _That was so gross! Why did you do that?_

**I just wanted to see if she could see me.**

_And freaked her out in the process! That was really mean of you._

**You were laughing!**

_So would anyone if they saw a levitating version of themselves vomit over a waitress's head._

**No they wouldn't. They'd scream and run away**, Pandora pointed out, with undeniable logic.

_And that makes what you did okay how?_

"Hey! Excuse me!"

Shinichi turned and watched with mild surprise as Kaito ran down the road towards her.

"This... you dropped it", he panted, bracing himself against his knees.

Shinichi looked at the object he had handed her. A small bead bracelet. She had thought she'd lost it a few nights ago when she had played dead in KID's feather trap. Her lips twitched. Looked like she hadn't been the only one who had left with something of the other's at that particular heist.

She couldn't help finding the situation funny. She knew KID's true identity, a fact he didn't know himself. And here he was, appearing before her minus a disguise, in the hope of interacting with her outside the heist.  
She'd already won the little game she and KID had decided on, but she had already decided not to let him know until he had figured out who she was for himself.

"Thank you", she said, "but I believe I lost this a while ago. Where did you find it?"

He straightened up as he caught his breath. "There was an elderly man sitting near you. After you left, he came up to me and gave me this, saying you had dropped it on the way out."

Shinichi mentally congratulated Kaito for creating someone else to be suspicious of. No doubt he thought she would automatically assume the elderly man was KID in disguise. "What did he do after?"

"I didn't see. I ran out to catch you before you left."

Shinichi surveyed him silently for five seconds longer than was comfortable. Kaito felt a little worried. Had it been a stupid move to meet with her without a disguise? He had been planning to gain her trust as Kaito, but had he just made her suspicious of him instead? He could draw nothing from her carefully blank expression.

Shinichi gave a sudden, bright smile, and it was as if the sun had come out. "Thank you", she said, giving a polite bow. "I must have just put it in my pocket earlier and forgotten about it. It was very kind of you to run all this way to give it to me."

Kaito blinked at her sudden show of charm, and gave her a grin. "You're welcome."

"I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly back there", she said apologetically. "It was very rude of me, but your friend seemed so agitated..."

"Oh- no it's alright."

"Is she okay?" Concern bruised her features.

"Yeah." Kaito remembered what Akako had said. "_Are_ you possessed?"

Shinichi shrugged. "If I was, I probably wouldn't notice. I don't believe in ghosts."

"Oh. Alright then." Kaito felt a little embarrassed.

"But if it turns out I'm being haunted, it looks like I know who to go to." Giving him another bright smile, she said, "I'd better go now. See you around...?"

"Kaito. Kaito Kuroba."

"See you, Kaito, Kaito Kuroba."

Kaito turned to leave, then realized he hadn't asked her name. Of course he already knew it, but only as KID, not as Kaito. He swung back to see her still standing where she was, smiling... like she had expected him to turn back. "What's your name?"

"Shinichi Kudo."

He feigned realization. "Isn't that-"

"Yes, I'm a detective, although I would be grateful if you don't mention to anyone I'm back. Paparazzi and all that."

"What are you here for?"

"An idiot thief", she said, her eyes narrowing.

Kaito pretended to frown in thought. "Do you mean... Kaitou KID?"

Shinichi nodded.

"Wow!"

"Are you a fan?"

"One of his biggest!", Kaito exclaimed. "Does this mean you've met him?"

He saw a grimace flash across her face before a pleasant smile replaced it. "Yes."

"What's he like? Have you seen him up close?"

Shinichi was silent for a few moments. "He- well, he's like- uh..." She struggled with words, trying to think up an accurate way to describe him beyond 'infuriating', and 'insane'.

"He's... interesting", she said finally.

"Interesting?" Kaito was really curious now.

"The boy is a walking rainbow", she elaborated, rolling her eyes. "Or perhaps a hurricane. He goes into a room and you can guarantee that within five minutes, it will be left in complete and utter chaos."

Kaito held back a grin. "Like what? What have you seen him do?"

"Paint dripping off the walls. Slime bombs. Nets that stick to whatever they touch. Clouds of feathers. Sleeping gas. Hair dye. The list goes on and on and on." She sighed and shook her head.

"Wow. I can see that trying to catch him may be a little taxing."

Shinichi nodded wearily. "Tell me about it. I actually have nightmares about what he's gonna do next." And a few nicer ones concerning him and her, courtesy of Pandora... "I'd better go now", she said reluctantly. "I'll see you around, Kuroba-kun."

"Kaito, please."

"Bye Kaito." She turned and walked away.

As he returned to the café, Kaito found himself smiling. Saying she was nice would be an understatement. He'd heard that Shinichi Kudo was quiet and serious, but she sure didn't seem that way. Quite the opposite, in fact- cheerful and occasionally mysterious were better words to describe her. And that barely-hidden smile she'd had throughout their little meeting, like she was having difficulty keeping herself from laughing. Shinichi Kudo was intriguing alright. She was a girl after his own heart.

Kaito repeated those last eight words to himself and felt his smile fade. Uh oh.

* * *

Shinichi walked into her house and shut the door behind her.

**That was KID!**, Pandora squealed.

"I know." She looked at the bracelet he had handed her and slipped it on.

**I'd recognize those eyes anywhere! Those violet, beautiful, gorgeous, lovely, dreamy-**

"Mine."

**Right. Sorry.**

Shinichi took off her jacket and felt something rustle in the pocket. She pulled out a heist note.

**Now, I wonder who could have slipped you that?**, Pandora asked sarcastically.

Shinichi grinned. "He never stops, does he?" She read it over for a few seconds, and her smile faded. "I'd better think up something fast. It's for next week."

**That's a long time. I'm sure you'll be able to think of something.** Pandora realized that Shinichi had gone very still. **Shinichi?**

Shinichi didn't reply. She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen.

**Shinichi? Hello?**

_Be quiet Pandora_.

**Why aren't you speaking out lou-**

_Someone's been in the house._

Pandora was silent for a moment. **How can you tell?**

_Remember when I laid those threads down in front of the doors and hallways?_

**Yeah.**

_They've been moved. Someone has stepped on them without noticing and pushed them out of shape._

**So why aren't you talking out loud? Surely they would have left by now?**

_They might have planted bugs and cameras. I need to be careful._

**Okay. Are you going to search for them?**

_No. Cameras, remember? Searching will just alert them to the fact I know they've been here._

**It might have just been KID**, Pandora pointed out.

_Maybe. But I can't take that chance._

**Why are you so _calm?_**

_I've been expecting something like this for a while._

Shinichi silently, carefully, began to make herself lunch, resisting the urge to flick paranoid glances left and right as she did so.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Shinichi, miles away, a stunning, golden-haired woman leaned back in her chair and laughed.

"We meet again, silver bullet-chan", she said, watching Shinichi on the large screen. "I wondered where you'd got to."

* * *

Nakamori growled at the heist note in front of him. "How did that thief get this into my office? How was he able to?!"

Takamoto, standing before his desk, said nothing. He watched earlier when Shinichi had somehow slipped into the office without being seen and put the heist note on Nakamori's desk. She had explained that KID had slipped it to her earlier, but that the situation was too embarrassing to explain to Nakamori. She would be along later to pretend to solve the heist note later.

Right on cue, Shinichi waltzed into the office, solved the heist note in a matter of minutes, then left again. Takamoto excused himself and went to the toilets. He took out his green contact lenses to give his eyes some air.  
KID grinned, his now-violet eyes sparkling. He was amazed at the speed at which Shinichi had solved his heist note.  
He wondered what she was planning for the heist. He hoped it would be good- he _had_ given her a whole week to plan, after all.

He slipped his contact lenses back on and left the cubicle. On the way back to the office he bumped into Shinichi- literally bumped, nearly sending her flying.

"Sorry", he said, grabbing her arm. "Hey, I thought you'd already left?"

She regained to balance. "I did, but I forgot something in the office."

He fell into step beside her as they walked. Shinichi was giving him an odd look.

"What is it?"

"I thought you were ill, Takamoto-kun. Didn't you call in sick today? A cough, was it?"

KID cleared his throat. "Er, yeah, it was really bad, but now-"

"No, silly me!", she trilled. "It wasn't a cough, it was an ear infection! I remember you saying you couldn't stand up right because of it."

KID wondered if he should stumble accidentally-on-purpose. "Yeah, I couldn't. But I think it's going-"

"Oh, I'm such an idiot!", she cried, smiting her own forehead at her stupidity. "It wasn't you who had an ear infection, it was Hiromu-kun! You called in sick because of a broken arm!"

They stopped walking, and Shinichi turned to face him.

KID stared at her, confused beyond words. Was he meant to be ill or not? And why was Shinichi behaving so out of character?

Shinichi gave a quiet snort and clapped her hand over her mouth. KID's eyes narrowed as he got it.

"When did you figure out I'm not Takamoto?", he asked.

"The moment I saw you. I passed Takamoto on the way in- he has a half-day."

"That's it?" Somehow, KID had expected more.

"Also, when you pushed your hair back, I saw where your mask connects with your face. And you were drinking a glass of water earlier- Takamoto-kun hates water."

KID blinked at her. "How can he hate water? It has no taste!"

"That's exactly what I said!", Shinichi exclaimed, then caught herself. "Anyway, what are you doing here? You make a habit of disguising yourself as police officers and wandering around the building?"

KID shrugged and grinned. "It's good practice. Did Takamoto really break his arm?"

"No. I just made that up to scare you." She said this with a perfectly serious face.

KID narrowed his eyes. "Hmm. I hope you don't mind if I ask you something?"

Shinichi looked at him warily. "Go on."

"Just what are you planning for my heist?"

"What are _you_ planning for _your_ heist?"

"I can't tell you that. It would ruin it."

"Same with me then. But I wouldn't expect anything too spectacular", she added gloomily. She didn't have an unlimited arsenal of gadgets like KID had.

"As long as you make it exciting, it's all the same to me, meitantei-chan", KID said airily.

"Can I ask _you_ something now? Do you know a boy called Kaito Kuroba?"

"Tall-ish boy? Messy dark hair?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"He's a fan of mine." KID looked at her sideways. "Why?"

"No, I was just wondering if you knew him. I met him today."

"Oh? And what did you think of him?"

Pandora giggled. **Tell him, Shinichi. Tell him_ exactly_ what you thought of him.**

Shinichi held back a grin. "He seemed nice. Quite chirpy. Funny too."

"Really?"

**You can do better than that.**

"And he was really cute."

KID almost choked. "Cute?"

"Yeah. He seemed like a really nice person. And he had a nice smile. And absolutely _gorgeous_ eyes."

KID was grateful for the mask he was wearing, otherwise he would look cherry-red by now. "R-really?"

**Oh, come on**, Pandora complained. **Make him give us a better reaction!**

"Yeah. Tell you the truth, I kinda fancied him a bit. I feel jealous of the girl who was with him when I met him. She was really beautiful- I bet they were going out." She couldn't help looking a little dejected as she said this. "It was a good meeting though- we had a little chat, and he returned a bracelet that I lost, so it's all good. He seemed like a good person- I hope I get to meet him again." She smiled cheerfully.

It took KID a moment to reply. "So you liked him then?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"

"So snappy, meitantei-chan! I was just making sure", he said.

Shinichi shook her head. "Inattentiveness is one of the reasons why I always see through your disguises. You need to listen more, to take in details other than appearance and speech. You need to study your victims' habits, what they like to eat, what they like to drink, how they act towards adults and children and friends and work colleagues. Their favorite colours, their manner of speech... even the names of their pets, it's all relevant. You can't just do things half-arsed, not when it could end up as a life behind bars for you."

KID grinned. "Advice from meitantei-chan. What is the world coming to?"

"It just pisses me off when you make my job easy. Having fun is all very well, but sometimes I just want a challenge", she complained, then stopped. Saying she wanted a challenge to the world's best and most infuriating thief might not have been such a good idea. And that suddenly evil look of glee on his face was beginning to unnerve her.

"And a challenge you shall get, my dear detective Angel", KID answered.

Shinichi smiled at the use of her code name. "I'd better go, in that case. It seems I'll need to prepare."

KID raised an eyebrow as she began to turn away. "Oh? Aren't you going to try to catch me?"

Shinichi turned back and studied him for a few seconds. "You're right", she said finally. She casually dropped a small, egg-shaped object.  
Smoke filled the hallway, and from the heart of it came Shinichi's voice. "Whoops."

KID took a step backwards, completely disoriented. Okay, it was time he stopped underestimating this detective. She moved faster than expected, and had surprising strength for someone so frail. She had muscles, but not the obvious type.

But before KID could react accordingly, he felt something slam into his chest and knock him to the floor. He gasped for air as he realized she had just jumped into him, her feet connecting with his chest. She ripped the mask from his face, to make escape a little more harder, he assumed, and began to pat him down. Her hand found a pocket, which she gleefully dove into.

"Why do you _always_ take my things?", he demanded, trying to stop her. He couldn't see three centimetres past his face with all the smoke.

"Wouldn't you?", she asked, pulling something out of the pocket. "Oh, I haven't seen this one before."

KID jerked his hips, trying to throw her off like he had at the last heist, but she hung on grimly, pinning him to the floor. "Meitantei-chan, as pleasurable as it is to have you straddling me like this, I actually need to leave quite soon."

The fact he couldn't see her face made her bolder. "Why, Kaitou KID? Play with me a little longer."

"You want to play? Why didn't you say so?", he asked.

He reached up, wrapped an arm around the back of her shoulders, and brought her face down to his. She only had moments to be startled before the hidden contraption in KID's collar delivered a squirt of sleeping gas right into her face.  
Her eyelids fluttered and closed, and she fell forwards.

KID sat up carefully, trying not to put Shinichi in an awkward position. He frowned, realizing his pockets were much lighter than before. He looked down at her and felt a grin form on his face.

His humiliating prank didn't _necessarily_ have to wait until the next heist...

He positioned her so that she was slumped against the wall. Now, what could he do? It was so easy to humiliate guys like Hakuba, but Shinichi was different. Also, there was a fine line to tread between the acceptable pranking and unacceptable pranking. She _was_ a girl, after all.

He hunted around in a pocket for something she hadn't taken and came up with a thick black pen. He looked at her and grinned.

And as KID raised the pen and brought it up to her face, a hand gripped his wrist.

**Nice try**, Shinichi said.

KID gaped. "Wha-?"

A grin formed on her face as she slid the pen out of his hand and crushed it. Ink ran down her wrist and stained her torso. **You're much too slow, Kaitou KID. Toichi must be twirling in his grave.**

Pandora thought very carefully before standing. It had been a while since it- or more accurately now, she- had had a body to control. The late Toichi had been its only guardian kind enough to let it take his body out for a spin- the rest had been worried that it would refuse to give the body back.

Probably the result of too much TV.

It looked around. The smoke was just beginning to thin. Agasa's bombs really _were_ better than KID's. It looked at the silent thief. **What's the matter, KID? It's not like you to become speechless.**

KID started, realized he was staring at Shinichi. Something about her was odd... her voice was different, a slightly higher tone lacking her usual sarcasm. It seemed to arrive in his head without first needing to pass through his ears. Her eyes were wider, more innocent, and seemed to be red-tinged, like she had been crying. Her stance was less assured, more uncomfortable, as though she was having difficulty standing. A passing body-language analyst would have observed how her relaxed shoulders and open palms indicated that she was now a much more welcoming and less secretive person than her stance would have suggested earlier. KID certainly did.

He watched her carefully, and blurted out the first thing that came into his mind. "You're not Shinichi."

Pandora laughed and clapped its hands together. **You figured it out so fast! What gave me away?**

He stared at her. That hadn't been the reaction he was expecting. "Your... body language, I guess. And your voice."

**Hmm, yes. I can see how my voice is a problem. And Shinichi tends to stand up straighter doesn't she? More... rigid.**

"How... are you..."

**Take your time.**

"Are you... her split personality then?"

**I guess you could say that**, Pandora grinned.

KID sighed and shook her head. "You're just like her when it comes to answering questions. Always replies in a riddle, never a straight answer."

**You always ask the difficult questions. Shinichi doesn't want to lie to you, you know, so she gives you what little she can. If you asked, oh, I don't know, 'what did you have for dinner last night?', she would answer 'sausages'. Because she hasn't got to lie about it.**

KID nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, could you answer something for me?", he asked, giving it his most beseeching look.

Pandora waved a hand airily (and somewhat uncontrollably). **Ask away.**

"It concerns Christie Edoga-"

**Nuh-uh!**, Pandora yelled, making it's arms into an X.** Denied! You can't ask those questions. Because if you want to find her, you've got to do it yourself!**

"So she's told you about our little game", KID said, more of a statement than a question.

Pandora grinned. **Nope.**

KID gave it a look. "Enough of the trick questions and misleading answers, alright? She must have told you-"

**She didn't.**

"Then she told Shini-"

**She didn't.**

"Then you must have overheard-"

**We didn't. Can I ask you question now?**

"Oh- okay."

**You don't seem very surprised that Shinichi has another personality inside her. You don't even seem surprised that said personality- me- is talking to you. Why?**

KID gave it an innocent look. "Doesn't that just make Shinichi even more interesting?"

Pandora burst out laughing. **It does, it does! And now I have another question. Do you like Shinichi?** At KID's sudden mistrustful body language, it grinned. **Don't worry, I won't tell her. I'm just burning with curiosity- which is something you can relate to, hmm?**

KID grinned at Pandora's words. "Do I like Shinichi?"

**Yeah. Liiiiike... is she attractive?**

KID tapped his nose. "Whether I find her attractive or not, it's my business, not yours."

Pandora shrugged. **Alright. I was just curious. I like the mask you're wearing, by the way.**

"Mask?"

**Yeah. It looks remarkably like that fan of yours, Kaito Kuroba. I'm impressed by your foresight... wearing a mask beneath a mask. I get the feeling that if I ripped this one off, there'd be another one beneath it?**

"Uh, yeah, haha. Kaito Kuroba is remarkably easy to act like."

**He reminds us of you, actually. In fact, that might be the reason Shinichi liked him so much...** Giving KID a wink, Pandora turned and strode away.

Pandora felt Shinichi nestle down in her own mind. _Thanks. You didn't embarrass me... I'm impressed._

**Aw, shucks. I think that maybe this deserves a reward...?**, Pandora asked hopefully.

Shinichi sighed. _I have some money on me, I think. Go treat yourself. But go home before you eat it- you may like the taste, but I can guarantee my body won't. I don't want to throw up in public._

**Thanks, Shin-chan!**

_Don't call me that!... Pan-chan._

**That was below the belt.**

Shinichi laughed.

* * *

This was quite possibly the most long and boring chapter I have written so far... in my opinion. Tell me what you guys think.

I'm having trouble thinking up a humiliating prank against Shinichi. It is as mentioned before- boys are much easier to prank than girls. You can do anything- hang them upside down, force them to cross dress, strip them half-naked... but girls are much harder. But having Shinichi as a girl does have its perks :)  
Another thing I'm having trouble on is a good trick for KID to do- for example, the burning butterflies- that I am able to explain. I don't know any that haven't been used in the manga's, so I guess I'll just have to take one from there.

As the more attentive of you have no doubt noticed, Shinichi doesn't appear to use very complex methods or tricks to dupe KID. This is because I am no good of thinking them up. Instead, I make Shinichi take more notice in the state of people's minds, since that's something I like to think about often. For example, if you recall in chapter 17 that Shinichi was hiding from KID in the security camera room, one might ask themselves why KID didn't look in there sooner. Wouldn't it be the first place you would go to after knowing that someone you are chasing is using the cameras to watch you?  
The answer is simple- _because_ it is the most obvious place, and because KID knows that Shinichi wouldn't go somewhere obvious, he decides she cannot be there. Shinichi won't go to the first place someone would look; it's like playing hide-and-seek and hiding under the covers of your bed.

But Shinichi realizes this and, knowing that KID thinks she is too intelligent to go there, decides to hide in the control room. Because that is now the last place he would look.

See?

I don't actually know why I'm telling you this. Probably because I've just finished reading Terry Pratchett- he always gives long author notes at the end.

As for the doves, I think I will take the advice of lovestoread, and the Guest who commented on 1/14/13 and make up the names of the doves. After all, it doesn't have to have pin-point accuracy on the dove's names.

Thanks to baduk, CresentMoonSpirit, oldspacecadet3, LP, lovestoread, and Guest 1/14/13 for helping with the dove question.

Also, thanks to Nika Corpus for your message. I'm glad I inspired you :)

Awwwright! I think that's it. Rant over. Thanks for reading Chapter 18 of Moonlight Magician. I hope you enjoyed it! :D


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Shinichi winced and plugged her ears as the alarm rang. The fat man standing beside it nodded happily, and punched a code into the keypad beside him, turning it off.

"This", he said to Nakamori, "is the alarm that will be triggered if the jewel is moved. It's quite distinctive, and can be turned off by a code only I know. Now, the glass surrounding the jewel has been specially altered so that-"

Shinichi tuned out. She wasn't particularly interested in the precautions Mr Ishikawa- the jewel's owner- was taking to prevent the theft of the gem, since it probably wouldn't deter KID anyway. Besides, she and the taskforce had a plan, and they were sticking to it.

The plan was relatively simple. Put a supremely accurate fake jewel into the display case. Hide the real jewel. KID doesn't get the jewel. Jump KID. Capture KID.

Tadaa!

Shinichi didn't think it sounded like much, but the taskforce seemed happy. Besides, she'd had a rather happy reunion with a certain, temporarily lost tranquilizer watch a few days prior, so she knew what to do when KID inevitably came after her for his revenge.

She looked at her watch. Five minutes until the heist.

The doors behind her swung open, and Shinichi turned to look straight into the face of Saguru Hakuba.

"Shinichi Kudo", he said, polite in the face of a pretty girl. "I didn't expect to see you here. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Saguru Hakuba", she acknowledged. "It's nice to meet you too."

"But- excuse me for asking- I believe you work in homicide?"

"Yeah... but I thought it would be good to see Kaitou KID in action. TV somehow doesn't quite capture the moment, I'm afraid."

She smiled at him, then glanced down at her watch. Two minutes left.

The lights went out. Behind her, she heard Hakuba comment, "He's one minute and fifty-three seconds early."

There was silence for a while, as everybody waited for something to happen. Shinichi vibrated with nervous energy.

"Lights must've shorted out", Nakamori's muttered. "Somebody go and get them back on."

There were sounds of people blundering around, then the snap of a door opening and closing. Shinichi's eyes began to adjust, and she moved to another corner of the room. She didn't like the thought of KID playing a prank on her while everyone was distracted.

The lights flickered on at that moment, revealing a very unnerved taskforce, and Mr Ishikawa crouching beside the display case with a wooden bat.  
He cleared his throat as he straightened up and kicked the bat out of sight. "The lights must be broken. I'll have someone see to them."

Nakamori marched towards the nearest taskforce member and yanked on his cheek. Then he moved on to the next one.

Hakuba looked towards Shinichi and raised his eyebrows. "I see you've mastered the art of teleportation. Congratulations."

Shinichi smiled and shrugged. "It can't hurt to be too careful. You know that KID would happily go all out under cover of darkness."

"Tru- ow!" Hakuba broke off and yelped as Nakamori yanked on his cheek. Then, he turned towards Shinichi, who ducked away and pulled her own cheek for him.

Nakamori nodded and loomed closer. "You haven't forgotten the plan, have you?"

Shinichi looked puzzled. "Plan, sir? You mean the net that's supposed to drop on KID above the display case? Why?"

"Just wanted to make sure. Ha! KID won't know what hit him!"

Hakuba and Shinichi watched Nakamori walk away.

"I didn't know there was a net", Hakuba said.

"That's because there isn't", Shinichi said levelly.

A sudden barrage of flashes made them look around. One of the windows at the far end of the room hadn't had its curtains drawn, and the crowd outside were trying to take pictures. Shinichi touched her hood to make sure it was still up.

Hakuba frowned, temporarily distracted. "We can't have people distracting us like this. I'll go close them."

"Please do", Shinichi said fervently.

Hakuba paused in the act of walking away. "Something the matter?"

"KID has promised me a humiliating heist", she answered grimly. "I'd rather not get it caught on camera."

Hakuba frowned. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Did you lie that there was a net to Nakamori because you suspect him of being KID?"

"Yes."

"Why him? Any one of us could be KID."

"Three reasons. Firstly, Nakamori knows not to try to pinch my cheek- or at least, the real one does. Secondly, Nakamori would have been confused if I had mentioned a non-existent net, he wouldn't have just accepted it. And thirdly, those curtains that aren't drawn are the ones Nakamori had been standing beside before the lights went out."

"Your point?"

"They weren't open before. And they certainly didn't have a stripped Nakamori lying just behind them." She looked at Hakuba. "I can see his feet."

Across the room, Nakamori turned and looked her straight in the eyes.

And smiled.

The lights flickered again, and then shorted out. The wail of the alarm protecting the jewel split the air.

"This humiliating prank", Hakuba said thoughtfully. "Is it due for tonight?"

Shinichi's voice issued from where she was suddenly standing behind him. Teleportation indeed. "Yes."

"Then I should run if I were you. I've been on the receiving end of many humiliating KID pranks, and it never ends well."

Shinichi turned and speed-walked to the door. Unfortunately, she and Pandora both had several different recollections of where it was located.

"OW!", Shinichi yelped, as she crashed into the wall. "I think I've broken my chin."

**I told you it wasn't that way!**

"My _chin._"

**Shinichi! We need to leave, before KID catches us!**

"It's no use anyway", Shinichi muttered, able to speak aloud in a dark room full of crashes and yells. "He probably has some kind of night-vision device anyway. Besides, we did our job today."

**Everything's going as planned, right?**

"As long as we can escape."

**It's a pity we weren't able to carry out the plan we were going to use on KID tonight.**

"Lets lament about that later. We need to get out first. I just wish I could see- the light on my watch won't be any help here."

Shinichi glimpsed Pandora's melon grin behind her eyes. **I can help!**

"How?", Shinichi asked suspiciously.

**Hey, come on**, Pandora purred. **Trust me.**

"I do."

**Alrighty then! Now, you may feel a slight sense of disorientation and nausea, but not to worry, it is all perfectly norm-**

Shinichi doubled over and braced herself against the wall. The darkness around her wavered.

Shinichi straightened up and blinked, marveling at her new view of the world. Silver lines, like threads of moonlight, criss-crossed the room, giving indistinct objects shape and size. She looked down at her hands, and waved one in front of her. It left a silvery blur in its wake.

"Beautiful", she breathed.

**KID!**, Pandora yelped.

Shinichi looked up and saw the thief across the room, standing by one of the windows. He was examining the jewel in the weak moonlight shining through a gap in the curtains, a frown on his face.

"Oh dear", she muttered.

* * *

KID examined the jewel carefully, then shook his head. A fake. They'd replaced the real jewel with a fake.

Which meant that the real one was probably around there somewhere. They wouldn't pass up on the chance to lure him out.

And the person most likely to be holding the jewel would be...

He smiled and rotated the rim of his monocle. The darkness of the room receded from his sight- at least, in one eye. He could see everything now, like a colourless version of what he normally saw. KID scanned the room, and spotted Shinichi, who was standing directly opposite him across the room.

Shinichi stood where she was, watching KID draw closer. She stared, transfixed, at the silvery ripples that spread out from his feet every time he took a step.

**Shinichi?** Pandora's voice snapped her from her stupor. **Now might be a good time to move.**

KID frowned as Shinichi, who had seemed to be staring in his direction (but that was impossible, right?) turned and walked away from him, towards the door. KID increased speed. He watched as she ducked and weaved around people and objects, showing a surprising lack of bumping into things for someone with nothing to guide her way. KID absently threw a glitter bomb at a passing taskforce, and another at Mr Ishikawa. It would be a very colourful room once the lights came back on.

Shinichi passed Hakuba at high speed, and KID decided to do an experiment. Pulling a small ink pellet from one of his many pockets, he lobbed it at her. She paused, turned, and dived out of the way as it arced towards her. It exploded, splattering the wall and ceiling in neon yellow that glowed faintly in the darkness. Shinichi turned, stared at the wall for a few seconds, looked at KID, and backed away.

There was no doubt about it. Somehow, Shinichi could see him.

KID paused at a tap on his shoulder and looked around. Nobody there. Of course, he couldn't see an invisible Pandora standing inches behind him.

**Leg it**, it advised Shinichi.

Shinichi threw a smoke bomb at him and sprinted away.

KID growled as he emerged from the cloud of smoke. How was Shinichi able to have so many smoke bombs? Catching her was hard, seeing as she pulled them out at every opportunity... a bit like him, really.

Hakuba was feeling his way around the room when he bumped into someone. He gripped their arm tightly. "Shinichi? Is that you?"

There was a quiet snicker, a laugh that Hakuba recognized. "Oh n-"

"But yes", KID grinned.

He was glad there was someone to take his irritation out onto.

* * *

The lights flooded on as Shinichi reached the door, putting a stop to any chances of stealthy escape.

She turned around, her vision returning to normal. The first thing she saw was what KID had done to Hakuba. She blanched and scanned the rest of the room. Full of multicoloured people, none of them KID. She walked back into the room, noting absently that Mr Ishikawa had decided to flee.

"You okay?", she asked Hakuba, trying not to look at him.

"Yes", he growled. "Will somebody help me out of this dress?"

"Where did KID go?", she asked, walking forwards.

"Here I am!", laughed a voice from behind her. KID leaned casually against the doorway, his hands in his pockets. "... Meitantei-chan~"

"KID!", Nakamori roared, bursting out from behind the curtain. "How dare you impersonate me! I'll get you this time!"

KID watched Shinichi mouthing the words as the inspector said them, and wondered if he ever got tired of yelling the same old thing.

"Hush, Nakamori-keibu", he scolded, knowing that all he was doing was increasing the man's rage. "I'm speaking to meitantei-chan here! If you keep interrupting-"

"Damn you KID!", Nakamori bellowed, advancing on him.

KID shrugged. "I did try to warn you", he sighed.

BLAM!

Pink smoke filled the air.

**Gas mask, gas mask!**, Pandora warned, just as Shinichi whipped hers out of her pocket.

As the smoke cleared, KID grinned and took his own mask off. "Glad to see you're prepared."

"Likewise", said Shinichi, also removing hers. She looked around. "Any reason why you knocked them _all_ unconscious?"

"Because today is the day I get even with meitantei-chan! We can't have them interfering now, can we?"

Shinichi tried to hide her relief. "So nobody's watching?"

"Looks like it", KID said, deciding not to mention the crowd outside and the now-open curtains.

"Poor Hakuba", Shinichi muttered. KID had good taste in dresses. And shoes. And wigs. And bonnets. Everything Hakuba now had on.

She turned as KID stepped forwards and bowed, one hand over his heart, the other behind his back. "May I have this dance, my lady?", he grinned.

Shinichi blinked at him. Whatever she had been expecting, it definitely hadn't been that. And that evil smile he was wearing...

_I've got to go through with this, haven't I?_

She smirked, and pretended to curtsey. "You certainly may."

To watchers outside, what then ensued was an explosion of smoke and glitter and lights and ink as Shinichi and KID both attacked at once.

To those inside, the situation looked a little less surreal.

Shinichi and KID threw as many things as they could towards each other as they fought. Shinichi ducked under a bomb of knockout gas, came up at KID's feet and received a ink pellet to her shoulder for her trouble. She reached for a bomb of her own, only to find her hand being gripped by KID. His other hand pressed into the small of her back, pushing her up against him, and suddenly they were dancing. She felt her cheeks flush as they waltzed, and KID grinned at her. Red with embarrassment, feeling the indignity of her position, she tripped him.

KID transformed his stumble into a graceful step back, and span her as he released her hand. Shinichi went with the movement and twirled, coming to a stop facing him, a few paces away.

She didn't notice the crowd outside going wild as they glimpsed the mysterious hooded girl dancing with the legendary bandit KID.

KID gave her another bow, and smoke enveloped him from behind, quickly filling the room. The smoke was thicker than usual and Shinichi smirked. Looked like he was trying to copy Agasa's bombs.

_Pandora, can your eyes help me now?_

**I can't see in smoke.**

Shinichi glanced at her watch. It only had one needle, and would be rendered useless if she wasted it shooting into smoke.

She gasped as what felt like an iron bar dropped around her and pinned her arms to her sides. The next second, a damp cloth, soaked with what smelt like alcohol, clamped over her mouth and nose.

"Mmph!", she gasped, automatically freezing. Before she could assess the situation fully enough to begin to struggle, her mind was already going blank.

She jerked her head back, and felt it hit KID's chest. Right, he was taller than her. Looked like breaking his nose was out of the question. She stamped down on his feet, then kicked out backwards. Nothing happened. His grip didn't loosen.

KID grinned. Meitantei-chan's attacks were having no effect- she fought like a toddler.

**Shinichi? You okay? Shall I take over?**

_No! You idiot..._ If Pandora took possession of her body while she was still being drugged...

**Whoa... is this what it's like being drunk?**, Pandora slurred, arriving back in her head. Shinichi felt it pass out moments before she did.

KID felt Shinichi go limp and gently lowered her to the ground. He watched carefully, waiting for the second personality to appear. When it didn't, he began to search the sleeping detective for the jewel.  
He found it eventually, cunningly concealed within a chap stick case, actually underneath the waxy tube of makeup.

He smiled at the jewel, then grinned at Shinichi's sleeping form. Hmm, what to do?

KID had thought long and hard about this, and had come to a conclusion. What, he had asked himself, could possibly cause embarrassment to a detective famed for her intelligence and serious nature?

He got to work.

* * *

Hakuba, finally freeing himself from the clutches of his dress, looked around at the unconscious room and walked gingerly into the smoke. About halfway in, he tripped over something.

"Ow", said a voice near his foot.

He looked down to see a very groggy Shinichi lying by his feet, wearing...

"Looks like I wasn't the only one who had an image change tonight", he said, helping her up.

She blinked at him blearily, leaning on his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Hakuba looked down at her outfit. She followed his gaze.

A black dress ending way above the knees, with a shorter white skirt on top. Puffy short sleeves. Long black knee socks with white lace at the band. Shiny, black, strap-on shoes. Long white gloves.  
Shinichi reached up to find her hair in perfect little ringlets, and that a black band with a ridge of ruffled lace was pulling it back from her face.

A maid outfit. A goddam _maid outfit..._

A piece of paper fluttered from the skirts and Shinichi read it in appalled silence.

_Meitantei-chan,  
Blue with white polka dots suits you.  
Kaitou KID *doodle*_

**Blue with white- isn't that the underwear you're wearing?!**, Pandora spluttered.

Shinichi crumpled the paper in her fist and tried to control her temper. "Where are my clothes?"

"He usually leaves them on, but I guess he, ah, removed them this time", Hakuba said, a little awkwardly. "Here, I'll lend you my jacket."

"Thanks", Shinichi said gratefully. She put it on and froze in the act of zipping it up. "Wait- my necklace! Is my necklace still here?" She scrabbled around her neck and sagged in relief as she felt the Pandora jewel resting safely against her collar bone. "Okay. Minor panic over. Lets go."

Zipping the jacket up to hide the ghastly outfit, she and Hakuba left the building, leaving the taskforce to wake up in their own time. Hakuba offered her a lift home, and they both waited outside for the car to arrive.

"Could you tell me what the plan for tonight actually was?", Hakuba asked her. "I arrived too late for anybody to give me anything that made sense."

"Well..."

* * *

KID grinned as he climbed in through his bedroom window. He twirled the jewel between his fingers and gently set it down with a _clink._

He paused and looked at it. Something was wrong. He switched on the bedroom light and studied the jewel. He tapped it against the wood of his desk. _Clink._ The sound of glass on wood. He stared at it, searching for any imperfections.

Upon finding one, his eyes narrowed. A fake. Another fake.

Which meant that Shinichi hadn't had the real one at all.

* * *

Hakuba stared at the smiling detective. "You mean the jewel was never here?"

"Right. The jewel in the display case was a fake, and the jewel KID took off of me was a rather more convincing fake. The jewel is actually being kept in a safe location- Mr Ishikawa is the only one who knows where. He left early on to avoid KID coming after him for the real one."

"So you pretended to have the jewel to lure KID out?"

"Yes. We advertised it on television, put it out in the newspapers, sent out flyers. It was all to catch KID. The real jewel was never here."

Hakuba was impressed, and said so. "I'm impressed. You did it so naturally that KID didn't suspect a thing. Such a simple plan that worked so well... So KID's left with a fake jewel?"

"Yes. Although the evening wasn't a total success. We didn't catch KID, and he stole my clothes... but at least he didn't get the real jewel-"

She paused as her phone chirruped, and dug it out of her pocket. She put it on loudspeaker for both of them when she saw who it was. "It's Mr Ishikawa."

_"Hi there, Angel."_ Like the public, nobody outside the taskforce knew her as Shinichi Kudo.

Hakuba mouthed _Angel?_ at Shinichi, who answered _Code name._

"Did you get out alright?", she said aloud.

_"Oh, I'm fine. Just fine."_

"I trust the jewel is safe?", Hakuba enquired.

_"Yes, it is in very safe hands, I assure you."_

Shinichi frowned at the phone, puzzled by the laugh in Mr Ishikawa's voice.

"Mr Ishikawa... are you alright?"

_"Aaw, you're worried about me!"_, sang a suddenly different voice down the phone. Shinichi and Hakuba both stiffened._ "Don't you worry, meitantei-chan, I'm absolutely fine, although you might want to send someone over to Mr Ishikawa's house soon... he will want to be untied once he wakes up. The gem is safe- unfortunately, it is not the jewel I seek. I guess I'll see you at the next heist?"_

Shinichi and Hakuba looked at the phone for a few moments as Kaitou KID laughed down it. Then, Shinichi hung up.

Hakuba decided not to comment on her murderous expression. "Looks like he got the jewel then."

Shinichi nodded and sighed a huge gust of air. "At least he didn't take it." Although she knew already that he wouldn't have.

Hakuba summed up what she was thinking perfectly. "When does he ever?"

* * *

Gin exited the boss's office, his face grim. Well, grimmer than usual.

"Vermouth's split", he told Vodka, who reacted in surprise. The idiot obviously hadn't seen it coming. Incompetent fool. "We're to find her and... dispose of her."

"Weren't we meant to be finding that Edogawa kid?", Vodka asked, following Gin down the hallway.

Gin snorted. "Not our problem anymore. The brat has vanished off the face of the earth. Either the FBI noticed that we were trying to stop her meddling and protected her, or somebody's done the job for us."

"So... we just need to find Vermouth."

"That's right. And investigate the rumors of the return of a detective named Shinichi Kudo..."

* * *

I have a kick-ass cold right now, and it feels like someone's filled my head with candy floss and then unscrewed it by the ears. Ugh.  
So please excuse any bad spelling or repeated sentences that you may encounter. I think I got them all, but I can't be sure.

Thanks for reading Chapter 19 of Moonlight Magician. I hope you've enjoyed it! :D *sneezes*.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Shinichi flinched as the metal of the stethoscope touched her chest.

"Did that hurt?", Haibara asked, frowning at her.

"No, it was just cold." Shinichi allowed her gaze to wander as the miniature scientist listened to her heartbeat. Haibara was insisting on her coming over to regular checkups every few weeks or so, to check that her body was in working order after being cured.

"You're all good", said Haibara, leaning back and putting the stethoscope away.

Shinichi pulled down her shirt. "Thanks."

"By the way", Haibara began slyly, "your little thief came here yesterday."

Shinichi paused in the act of opening her bag. "He did? Why?"

"He was asking about a certain child named Christie Edogawa." She turned towards Shinichi and widened her eyes meaningfully. "I know her, but not where she is. Does the name ring any bells?"

Shinichi looked at her. "I knew one once. But she's long gone by now."

"Do you know where? He seemed worried for her."

"I haven't a clue. She told me one day that she would be leaving, then vanished."

A wicked gleam entered Haibara's eyes. She smirked at Shinichi. "Maybe she's dead."

Shinichi glared at her. "No, I'm certain she isn't. She's just had a very radical image change."

As they spoke, Haibara led her across the room and pointed out a black speck high up on the wall. She carefully pulled it down and studied, smiling. Then, she stuck two fingers in her mouth and gave a piercing whistle down it. She dropped it on the floor and Haibara crushed it beneath her foot.

"Was that the only one?", Shinichi said quietly, scanning the room for any other listening devices.

"I got all the others", Haibara said, picking bits of metal out of her slipper. "Such obvious places."

Shinichi laughed. "Only to you and me."

They both looked down at the mashed listening device.

"Would you like some cake?", Haibara asked finally. "And you can tell me about your encounters with that elusive thief."

"Okay", said Shinichi.

* * *

Kaito toppled out of his chair and onto the floor as an ear-splitting _squee_ screeched down his earpiece. He wrestled it out and glared at it as the sound stopped.

"Kaito!", Aoko hissed. "Get up! Everybody's looking at you!"

Kaito looked up to see that the whole class was indeed looking at him. He smiled apologetically as he slid back into his seat. "Sorry, my, er... elbow slipped."

The teacher looked at him distrustfully. "Make sure it doesn't happen again."

As the class turned back towards the front, Kaito grimaced and rubbed his aching ear. Either the bug had malfunctioned, or someone had found it. He wouldn't put it past Shinichi to have found it and destroyed it or something. He would have to check on it later.

But first, there was a little something he had to drop off...

* * *

Several hours later, KID found himself prowling the Kudo mansion in the fast-fading sunlight, looking for Shinichi's bedroom. Not, neccessarily, to do anything weird, but to return the clothes he had taken from her at the last heist and put them somewhere they wouldn't be overlooked.

Her home was huge. Room following room, filled with books, trophies, clothes, art... KID had got the fright of his life when he turned on the light in yet another room to find numerous Indian masks leering down at him from the walls.

On the third floor, KID cautiosly opened a door to find a room with a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. There were also several shelves of books. He almost whooped when he opened the wardrobe to see Shinichi's clothes jostling for space inside. He'd found the room! At last!

KID put the hooded sweater, jeans, and shoes down onto the bed as the front door slammed downstairs.

Crap. Shinichi was back.

He crept out of the room and into the hall. He leant against the banister, watching as she took off her jacket and shoes. She was holding a white box, and KID's chocolate-tuned nostrils caught the scent of brownies. His mouth watered.

_I could help you with those._

Shinichi frowned at the box. "Don't even like chocolate...", she half-muttered, presumably to her second personality. KID wondered if it even had a name. Shinichi's face suddenly brightened. "Perhaps I should give them to KID then?", she asked herself with a laugh, "In return for a jewel."

KID grinned and nodded. Just as he was about to jump down and reveal himself to her, there was a knock at the door.

Shinichi frowned. "Who...?" She shrugged to herself, then opened it.

The box of brownies tumbled from her hands and crashed onto the floor. KID couldn't see the expression on her face, nor the person at the door.

"Hello, Shinichi", said an amused, seductive voice. A woman's voice. KID felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and shivered.

"Vermouth", Shinichi said, her voice devoid of emotion. "What are you doing here?"

_She's holding something_, KID thought, squinting at Shinichi's back._ Behind her back, she's holding something..._

He felt a cold thrill. Shinichi was holding a gun.

"I came to offer-"

"-you an, pause, interesting deal that I think will be worth your while", Shinichi finished for her.

The woman, Vermouth, laughed. "Oh, very good. I can see you're getting the hang of it already. Yes, I did come to offer you a deal." Her voice lowered until she was just murmuring and, no matter how hard he strained, KID couldn't hear a word she was saying. Finally, she stopped, and there was an expectant silence.

"... I'll think about it", Shinichi said. "I expect all I have to do to alert you of my decision is to speak to one of the many cameras you have planted all over my house?"

Another laugh. "Very good, my dear Silver Bullet."

Shinichi twitched. "Silver...?"

"I've been watching you for much longer than you think, Shinichi Kudo. Or, should I say Christie Edogawa?" There were fading footsteps.

Shinichi shut the door and leant against the wall, her face in her hands. She looked at the gun bleakly, then put it down beside her.

"What do I do?", she asked the empty air.

**Don't ask me**, she said, and KID recognized the voice of her second personality.

"You're useless", Shinichi said, shaking her head.

**Well, if you want my opinion, I would try to find out if what she was saying was true. Did she _really_ get kicked out of the BO? Is she_ really_ intending on helping us find Snake in return for destroying the BO? We need to find out.**

"Nice thought, but there's no way of actually finding that out."

**What were you thinking of doing, then, Shin-chan?**

"Stop calling me that,_ Pan-chan_."

**Well?**

Shinichi sighed. "Demand that she uphold her end of the deal. Show me where Snake is, or whatever she had in mind. Then, if that goes according to plan, use her knowledge to take down the BO."

**It won't be that easy.**

"It never is."

**What do you think we should do about her if we're still alive afterwards?**

"I doubt we'll have the chance to do anything. She'll just disappear. She seems quite good at that."

**You know what I think we should do?**

Shinichi looked up. "What?"

**Kill her.** An odd grin appeared on the face that KID realized wasn't, at that moment, Shinichi's.

"Shut up, Pan-chan", he muttered, suddenly taking a dislike to the strange thing inside Shinichi's mind.

**No, _you_ shut up, Kaitou KID**, it snapped. KID took a step backwards, out of sight.

"What?", Shinichi said, sounding confused.

**I thought I just heard KID's voice.**

"I didn't. You're cracking up. Hallucinating."

**Cool!**

"No, not cool. If my own split personality starts hallucinating, I_ know_ that I'm in trouble."

**Whoa, you're right!**

"And we're not killing anybody. My plan's better."

**It's a suicide plan.**

"At least it doesn't condemn me to hell."

Their voices faded as they headed away. KID leant against the banister again, his head whirring.

What had all that been about? Shinichi holding a gun? A mysterious person showing up at her doorstep? All this talk of murder? And how did Shinichi know about Snake? He had trusted Christie not to tell anyone. But, according to this Vermouth person, Shinichi _was_ Christie. That was insane. Ridiculous. A ludicrous idea. Sure, they looked alike, but even so...

And Vermouth. He knew that name. He had heard it somewhere, but where?

Christie. While playing a prank on Christie, she had asked him if he was Vermouth. He had been puzzled at the time, by the look of sheer terror in her eyes. Christie had known Vermouth, and Shinichi did too.

KID sighed and shook his head. No matter how confusing it all was, Shinichi Kudo's house was definitely not the place to sit and think about it. The creak of a window opening, the swish of a white mantle, and KID was gone.

* * *

I wrote about thirty pages in my notebook on the Vermouth encounter, then decided it was all crap and ripped them out. So, here's the shorter, and, hopefully, better version. Quality more than quantity, and all that. Sorry it's so short after such a long time, but I have exams coming up.

I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 20 of Moonlight Magician! Thanks for reading :D


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Pandora woke up.

It allowed its consciousness to float upwards, and conjured a body so it could yawn and stretch. It liked stretching.

Pandora looked down at its sleeping guardian, then down the hallway longingly.

**Shinichi**, it hissed. **Shinichi. Wake up.**

Shinichi stirred in her sleep.

**Shinichi! Hey, Shinichi, I'm hungry.**

Shinichi opened one eye and squinted at it. "No."

**Yes.**

"No. You don't get hungry", she mumbled, her eye sliding closed.

**But _you_ do. Humans need to eat, right?**, Pandora said triumphantly.

"I'm not hungry yet."

**Think of the eggs... bacon... waffles...**

"We don't have any of that stuff!" Shinichi pulled the covers over her head. "Leave me alone. I'm tired and I have a stomach ache."

**They might be hunger pangs.**

"No."

The curtains swung open, allowing buttery yellow light to flood the room. Shinichi yanked the covers over her head. "I hate you."

Pandora snorted as it yanked the duvet to the floor. **Oh, _that's_ very nice- **It froze, staring fixedly at Shinichi, then gave a high-pitched scream that sent Shinichi tumbling to the floor.

"Ow! Pandora-"

**B-blood! Blood! Shinichi, you're bleeding!**

"What on earth are you-" Shinichi frowned, feeling an odd dampness on her legs, and looked down. "Oh", she said in surprise. "So I am."

Pandora fainted.

* * *

"I can't believe you fainted!", Shinichi laughed ten minutes later. She was buttering a piece of toast.

**How was I meant to know you were due on?**

"It's written on the calendar."

**But there was so much blood!**

"My periods are always quite heavy. But I still can't believe you fainted!"

**Shut up and eat that piece of toast!**, Pandora snarled, crossing slightly transparent arms defensively.** I'm hungry.**

"You're not, you know", Shinichi said, beginning to eat. "You can't get hungry."

**Oh, not this again!**, Pandora groaned dramatically.

Shinichi paused in her chewing for a moment to give a small snort.

**What?**, said Pandora, looking at her curiously. Shinichi didn't often laugh, that morning being the exception.

"You fainted!", Shinichi squealed, flinging down the piece of toast to double up with laughter.

Pandora sighed. Shinichi obviously wasn't going to forget that in a hurry.

* * *

Kaito walked out of the school in subdued silence, ignoring the daggers Hakuba had been sending at him since the last heist.

"Kaito?", said Aoko, watching her childhood friend carefully. He had been quiet all day, and was starting to worry her.

He turned and forced a smile. "Yeah?"

She studied his face. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

Kaito blinked at her. "Really?" Well, he_ had_ been up worrying most of the night.

"You do know that if anything's worrying you, you can come to us? You know that, right? Right, Hakuba?", she added, turning to the blond detective.

"Yeah", Hakuba muttered ungraciously.

"...Thanks, Aoko", Kaito said, a little surprised. "I know that, and I'm okay. Honestly."

Aoko gave him a piercing look, but relented. "Just so long as you know that", she said, walking ahead. Hakuba threw him another dirty look before following her.

"Speaking of confiding worries", Akako murmured from behind him. "There's something I need to tell you."

Kaito turned and raised an eyebrow. "What? Another gold nugget of information from your friend Lucifer?"

"Yes, actually", she snapped. "It's about this mystery detective of KID's everybody's talking about."

"Shinichi Kudo", Kaito said, nodding.

Akako blinked, uncharacteristically surprised. "Really? I thought she'd disappeared?"

"I think that's what she wants people to think."

"Oh, alright. Anyway, I thought I'd better say this, since Kaitou KID seems to like her so much."

"And what payment would you like to extract before you tell him?", said Kaito.

"This time, it's free", Akako said, so seriously that Kaito dropped the sarcastic tone.

"What is it?", he said sharply.

"Lucifer granted me a vision", Akako said, lowering her voice as they caught up to Aoko and Hakuba. "It showed your detective, standing on a rooftop. She was wearing a grey sweater with the hood pulled up."

"How did you know it was her?"

"The newspapers caught several pictures of her at the last heist. I recognized her stance. Anyway, Lucifer showed her standing in front of this tall guy with a horseshoe mustache. It looked like they were talking to each other, but then he just raises his arm and shoots her." She looked at Kaito's pale face. "It ended right after that. I didn't get to see what happened next. There was a lot of blood, Kuroba-kun. I think she's due to die."

"No", Kaito muttered. "I won't let that happen."

"C'mon you guys!", Aoko called from ahead of them. Kaito realized that they had been headed to their usual place after school- the café he often saw Shinichi in.

Maybe he could use this chance to warn her?

With this thought in mind, he entered the café after Aoko and Hakuba.

"Not again", Aoko sighed.

Akako stiffened. Kaito peered around her to see Shinichi again sitting at their usual booth. But she wasn't alone this time. Sitting with her was a girl with long brown hair and a sweet face- the Mouri girl, Ran-, another girl with a slightly less feminine face and jaw-length brown hair, who looked vaguely familiar, and a boy who Kaito recognized from the taskforce, Takamoto.

Akako cast the group an odd glance as they picked the booth beside them.

"You still getting that odd feeling?", Kaito muttered.

"Yes. I'm sure it's that girl with the blonde hair."

"That's Shinichi."

Akako gave him a startled glance. "Your detective?"

"Yup." Kaito suddenly had an idea. "You know that day you felt that odd feeling here and... became agitated? What exactly did you see?"

"This sounds ridiculous, but I saw another version of her. Its eyes were red, and it seemed otherworldly."

"I'm asking because Shinichi seems to have a sort of split-personality. Maybe that was what you saw?"

Akako frowned in thought. "Could be. I've never heard of anybody actually being able to see them..." Still deep in thought, she stood and made her way to the till to order.

Kaito bit his nail and wondered how exactly he should go about warning Shinichi that she might soon die.

"Kaito", Aoko hissed, interrupting his thoughts.

"Uh?"

"Stop staring."

"What?"

"Stop turning around and staring. You keep looking at that blonde girl."

"Blonde girl?" Hakuba leaned around Kaito to take a look. "Oh!", he said, with pleasant surprise. "I didn't expect to see her here."

Aoko looked at Hakuba in surprise. "You know her?"

Hakuba nodded. "Yeah, she's a friend. Kuroba-kun knows her too, _don't you, Kaito Kuroba?"  
_

"Yup!", Kaito chirped, visibly surprising Hakuba. "I met her a few days ago- we're friends!"

"She's not another Kaito KID fan, is she?", Aoko asked.

Hakuba laughed. "Actually, she's just the opposite- she's a detective like me. She'd helping us catch him."

"KYAAAAAAH!"

"Oh my God!"

"He's _dead!"_

Hakuba stood and pushed through the crowd that had suddenly formed around a table at the back of the café. Kaito, realizing that Shinichi's seat had also been vacated, stood and followed him.

The majority of the café was crowded around a table. A man was sitting at it, face-down in a pool of his own blood.

"Don't touch the body", a calm and firm voice ordered- Shinichi's voice.

She was standing over the corpse, keeping the crowd at bay. She radiated authority, despite being younger than most of them. She placed a finger over the man's pulse and shook her head sadly.

"What does it look like?", Hakuba asked her, stepping into the crime scene.

"There's a scent of almonds", Shinichi answered, not showing any surprise at him being there. "It looks like cyanide poisoning."

"No!", a woman in a waitresses uniform wailed. She rushed forwards out of the crowd.

"Please stay back", Hakuba said, holding out an arm to stop her. "You mustn't touch the body before the police get here."

"Who... who are you two?", the woman asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and smearing mascara across her face.

"Saguru Hakuba..."

"Shinichi Kudo..."

"...Detective!", they finished.

* * *

Thanks to the Guest who commented on Chapter 12 on the 2/18/13. I definitely wouldn't have realized my little Yusako/Yusaku spelling mistake by myself :)

Sorry these chapters always take so long, you would not BELIEVE the amount of school work I am getting! But I'll try to up the number of updates from now on ^.^'

Thanks for reading Chapter 21 of Moonlight Magician guys! Anything you guys think I need to improve on, just say :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Akako watched the crime scene with interest. Aoko and Kaito stood beside her, their eyes on Shinichi and Hakuba. The police had done their thing at the crime scene and told everybody to go back to their tables. Nobody was to leave.

Shinichi and Hakuba were standing beside the corpse, talking quietly to the police. Traces of cyanide had been fond on the handle of the teacup the victim had been drinking from, and they were now all questioning the café staff. Kaito watched with interest at how Shinichi kept glancing at one waitress in particular- the one who had cried over the dead man before.

Kaito stood and made him way over to stand beside Shinichi.

"Hi", he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the police. He avoided looking at the corpse.

"Hello", Shinichi said, again failing to look surprised at the appearance of another familiar face. Perhaps she'd noticed him earlier.

"Do you think the police are getting anywhere?"

"Not really."

Kaito watched as she glanced at the waitress again. "But it looks as though you have a suspect."

Shinichi smiled a little. "Leah Rowe, aged twenty-seven. Moved here from England with her friends Hannah Smyth and-", she glanced at the corpse,"- Jason Chung. Hannah and Jason were going out. Hannah also works here, but can't be questioned yet- she fainted when Jason died."

Kaito looked at the waitress, Leah, who was sitting in a chair across the room, shaking with grief. "Why exactly do you suspect Leah? Sure, she has a link with Jason, but..."

Shinichi shrugged. "It's just a suspicion, based on body language and facial expressions. I have no proper proof."

"What exactly has made you suspect her?", he asked. He was interested to hear her opinion.

Shinichi looked uncomfortable. "I like people watching. I was watching Leah, Hannah, and Jason before Jason expired. I remember watching the way they all acted around each other. Hannah and Jason would act sort of... flirty around each other. Quiet, like they didn't want to draw attention to themselves, but still like they were in a relationship. But Leah and Jason acted differently. Not like they were friends, but more like they were also in a relationship and wanted to keep it hidden. Almost secretive. I remember thinking that there might have been some sort of love triangle thing going on. And when Hannah and Jason would talk to each other, Leah really didn't look very happy about it.  
My suspicions of her come from her body language and expressions, which is not enough to prove that she killed him."

"Maybe it was Hannah?", Kaito suggested. "Maybe Jason cheated on her with Leah, and Hannah killed him for revenge?"

"Maybe", Shinichi said mildly, so mildly that Kaito knew she didn't really agree.

"Shinichi", someone said softly, and Kaito turned to see the Mouri girl standing behind them. She looked worried. "Do you have any idea who might have done it?"

"Not really..."

"It's just that we need to leave soon and Sonoko's getting impatient."

"I'll do my best", Shinichi said wearily.

Ran frowned. "Are you alright? You look pale."

"I'm alright. I was just up late last night", Shinichi lied. She wasn't about to tell Ran how going months without witnessing a murder made her feel weird when one finally cropped up.

Kaito noticed Ran's anxious expression increase. "Take care of yourself, okay? I worry about you being alone in that big house. You're only seventeen."

"Going on eighteen." Ran gave her a look. "I'll be okay. I'll go to bed early tonight, alright? Okay, Mum?"

Ran rolled her eyes. "Make sure you do."

As Ran turned to go, Shinichi said, "What do you think of Takamoto-kun, then?"

"H-huh?" Ran blinked rapidly, a small blush spreading over her cheeks.

"Takamoto-kun. It's your first time meeting him. What do you think of?"

"He's very nice", Ran said weakly, then hurried away.

Shinichi grinned as she watched her leave. "I think I've just found Ran a potential boyfriend", she said quietly. "My cunning plan worked."

"Takamoto-kun?", Kaito said in surprise.

"Sure. You know him?"

"No", Kaito said, a little too quickly.

Shinichi turned away as her grin widened. Then, she remembered the corpse and sighed.

"You know, your friend was right", Kaito said suddenly. "You really don't look so good."

"Thanks", she said drily.

"No, I mean... look, is the dead guy getting to you?"

"I would like you to think about what you just asked me."

"Very funny. Look, after I met you, I kind of looked you up. You solve murder cases every other week, sometimes every other day. And that type of thing must be draining. So... just take it easy, okay?"

Shinichi looked at him, surprised. Nobody had ever said that to her before- people just assumed she could cope with encountering bodies almost every day. "Sure", she said. "Thanks." She went back to the crime scene.

She noticed something amiss immediately. "Where's Hannah?"

"Huh?", said Hakuba, spinning around and staring at the seats where she had been put. "She was right there."

"Are you looking for Hannah?", Leah asked, coming up to them. "She went to the bathroom."

Shinichi and Hakuba looked sideways at each other. They hadn't had the chance to search Hannah yet.

Kaito went back to sit with Akako and Aoko. "Hi", he said, sitting down with them. "What's up?"

"How is Hakuba doing with the investigation?", Aoko asked.

Kaito shrugged. "It seems as if he and the police are pretty lost. They know that the guy was murdered with cyanide on the handle of the cup he was drinking from, but they can't work out just who put it there. They're looking for a container with cyanide in it, but aren't having all that much luck so far. But it seems Shinichi's got an idea of who it is."

"Shinichi?"

"The blonde girl from before. Didn't you hear her introduce herself before?"

"Oh, I was more focused on Hakuba." Aoko's eyes misted over.

Kaito and Akako glanced at each other.

There was a sudden commotion from behind them, and they turned to see Inspector Megure bearing down on Hannah.

"If you didn't kill him?", he said, with dangerous calm, "then how do you explain this packet of cyanide in your apron pocket?"

Kaito looked for Shinichi, who was mysteriously absent. She appeared in a doorway behind the group with the manager of the café, her expression unreadable.

"I don't know!", Hannah wailed. "It's not mine! Someone must be trying to frame me!"

"Admit it", said Hakuba, who was looking at her with profound disgust. "Leah's told us all about how your boyfriend was two-timing you. You found out about it and killed him in a fit of jealous rage. You knew he had a habit of biting his thumb, so you put cyanide on the handle of his cup and waited for him to die- that way, it would be hard to pinpoint who put it there. You were probably planning to dispose of the cyanide while in the toilet, had we not found you out."

"Wait, I was being two-timed? I didn't know about that! I didn't kill him, I swear!"

Shinichi looked at Leah. "Why are you smiling?"

Leah was a little too slow to hide her half-smirk before the police turned to her. "W-what?"

"Why are you smiling when your lover is dead and your friend is being arrested?"

"I... I wasn't-"

"But I suppose I understand. Why shouldn't you smile when your plan is going exactly as you want it to?"

"I don't know what you're talking-"

"You were going out with Jason behind Hannah's back", Shinichi interrupted. Her gaze bored into the increasingly panicked Leah, daring her to disagree. "But I'm guessing something when wrong in your relationship. Hannah's influence gave him second thoughts, and he tried to break it off with you. To get revenge, you decided to kill him and frame your usurper. What the police don't realize, and what Hannah doesn't recall is that it was you who made the tea for Jason, and put the cyanide on the handle of the mug. I expect you told Hannah to give the tea to Jason because you were busy, so that anyone watching would see Hannah give him the tea and not you. You were also the one who slipped the packet of cyanide into Hannah's apron pocket. You realized she had awoken and helped her to the toilet to compose herself, planting the packet in the process."

"How exactly do you know this?", Hakuba asked, raising an eyebrow at Shinichi.

"People watching", Shinichi said simply. "And the manager of this café was kind enough to allow me to view the cameras inside the kitchen."

Leah flinched. "Y-you have no proper proof!"

"Face it, Leah. The cameras caught everything. You might as well confess", Shinichi said coldly.

Leah's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Leah, how could you?", Hannah whispered, horrified. "We've all been friends since elementary school."

"He didn't just break up with me", Leah muttered.

"So, he hurt your feelings? So what! Hundreds of people, every day, go through bad breakups! You didn't have to-"

The murderous look of Leah's face stopped Hannah's yelling. "He got me pregnant!", Leah hissed. "And when I told him, he said he needed a break, but he still stayed with you!"

"You're... pregnant?"

"Not anymore", Leah said bitterly. "Last week, I had a miscarriage and lost the baby. But Jason didn't want to know. He broke up with me and stayed with _you_. So, I decided that if I couldn't have him, no-one else could."

* * *

As Leah was led away in shackles, Hakuba turned to Shinichi.

"That was very impressive. You didn't jump to conclusions, even when everybody else did."

**Jolly good show!**, Pandora said, in a faux-English accent.

_Shush, don't be mean. He's complimenting me, there's no need to be like that._

**But he's so... _annoying_. He gets on my nerves.**

_You're so weird._

Shinichi looked at Hakuba and smiled. "Thanks."

"Well done, Shinichi-chan!", Megure said. "Fast as usual! The newspaper crew is here, and I'm sure you won't mind-"

"No", said Shinichi, shaking her head. "I'd really rather not. Don't mention I was here, please."

"Oh", Megure said, surprised. "Alright then. I'll just tell them an unnamed investigator helped us with our case..."

As Megure ambled off, Ran walked up and placed her hand on Shinichi's shoulder. "Well done. That was faster than usual."

Shinichi smiled shyly. "Thanks."

"You might not realize it, Shinichi-chan, but you've changed."

Shinichi blinked at Ran, then sudden comment startling her. "Huh?"

"You've changed. You've become quieter, and... more thoughtful. You definitely wouldn't have refused to talk to the media in the past. Really, I'm proud of you." She squeezed her arm and went back to Sonoko and Takamoto.

"You two look close", Hakuba commented. Shinichi twitched as he stood too close to her; in her mind, Pandora's face twisted as it pretended to retch.

Shinichi nodded. "We used to be a sort-of couple", she said absently.

Behind them, Kaito choked on his half-finished glass of chocolate milk. Akako raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Hakuba stared at her. "... Really?"

"Yeah. But we decided it wasn't really working. We're just friends now. Still, I'm glad I've managed to get her together with Takamoto-kun. They suit each other..." Shinichi watched sadly as Jason Chung's body was carried away, then shook herself. "Sorry. No idea why I told you that."

**Yeah. Absolutely no idea. Nothing to do with the fact he was too close to us**, Pandora snickered.

"I guess", Shinichi went on, "It's because this hasn't happened for a while now. Murder, I mean. I guess KID's good luck is rubbing off on me."

Hakuba surveyed the crime scene. "You sure it's not running out?"

"If it were, KID would be dead by now", Shinichi pointed out. "Anyway, whatever's happening to make this stuff stop, I'm glad for it. I really needed a break."

"SHINICHI!", Sonoko shrieked. "Hurry up! We need to leave!"

"Alright! See you", she added to Hakuba.

"Until the next heist."

"See you, Kaito-kun", Shinichi called, loud enough for him to hear. Kaito started guiltily. Did she know he had been eavesdropping?

Shinichi hurried towards Ran, Takamoto, and Sonoko, cursing internally. She had come to the end of her and Hakuba's conversation before noticing Kaito's reflection in the window next to her. Crappity-crap, why did he have to overhear?

**How embarrassing!**, Pandora chirped cheerfully.

* * *

"About time!", Sonoko cried. "C'mon, let's go before the shops all close!"

Takamoto gave her a startled look. "But... someone just died. Surely you're not still in the mood to shop?"

"Oh, it's all normal to us!", Sonoko laughed. "Whenever Shinichi's around, someone dies! It's like she's under a curse, or something! Or maybe she's being followed around by a death God."

Shinichi glanced at Takamoto and grabbed his arm before he got a chance to voice the outrage on his face. "Leave it", she muttered.

"She doesn't mean it", said Ran.

"C'mon!", Sonoko called, oblivious to the discomfort she had caused. They hurried after her.

"Do you really not mind it?", Takamoto asked quietly.

Shinichi shrugged. "I'm used to her idiocy."

Takamoto snorted. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but... what is it like? All the dead bodies."

"Honestly?", Shinichi said thoughtfully. "It's a bit like having your on theme tune. A really gory one."

Takamoto blinked, and went to talk to Ran. Shinichi grinned.

* * *

To lovestoread: Here ya go :)

Thanks to LP, I wouldn't have noticed that mistake.

Thanks for reading Moonlight Magician! :D


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"What an unpleasant girl", Akako said with distaste, as she and Kaito watched Sonoko lead the group away.

"Sonoko", Kaito said.

"Pardon?"

"Her name's Sonoko. I recognize her from my- I mean, KID's heists."

Aoko threw herself down into the seat beside Akako. "I can't believe we just saw Shinichi Kudo!", she said excitedly.

Hakuba sat beside her. "And you're not to say a word about it."

"How comes?"

"She seems very keen not to get into the papers. She probably wants a break from the paparazzi. I wouldn't say anything about it if I were you."

"Do you see her often?", Akako asked.

"Only at KID heists. Why?"

"Do you know where she's been for so long? There have been rumors going around that she's dead."

Hakuba shrugged. "I don't really know. It's not my business."

_But I'll make it mine_, KID decided. His curiosity was beginning to surface again.

* * *

Shinichi put down the phone and smiled. "Another KID heist", she said to Pandora.

She had no problem talking aloud to the jewel anymore- if Vermouth had been watching her for as long as she said she had, then she would have seen it already.

**YES!**, Pandora cheered, punching the air with an imaginary fist.** It's been so long that I was beginning to think he had given up on me.**

"Do you want him to give up on you?"

**Dunno. Experiencing your emotions with you makes it hard to dislike any attention from him, although I draw the line at having him smash me to bits. I think I'd be pretty disappointed if he were to give up on me, like you would if he gave up on finding you as Christie.**

"Speaking of which, I wonder how KID's getting on with that", Shinichi said, frowning into the middle distance.

"You wonder how I'm getting on with what?", KID didn't say. He was leaning against the wall behind her, watching her converse with who he assumed was 'Pan-chan'. The lights were off, and the sky was dark, so the whole room was swathed in shadows. He couldn't help feeling a little impressed towards Shinichi- for a teenager who faced murder every single day, alone in a huge, echoey mansion, he found her extraordinarily unafraid of the dark.

Shinichi sighed and shrugged. "I just wish he'd hurry up. I mean, the clues are all there- KID just needs to join the dots. Hopefully, he'll find his tantei-chan soon and be done with it. Really, for an intelligent, albeit insane, thief, he sure has a closed mind."

KID raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but stayed silent as his voice stuck in his throat. Shinichi had just reached down and stepped out of the jeans she had been wearing. She unbuttoned her shirt, then paused and began messing about with the objects on her desk, chattering to Pan-chan as she did so.

KID realized his mouth was hanging open. What had just happened?

He wondered what the appropriate thing to do would be. Clear his throat? Slip away? Stay silent and watch the show?

Part of his mind was panicking on what he was seeing, and the other part was watching the blonde detective in front of him. He could see little flashes of her body as her shirt swung open and closed. He had never before considered white underwear to be all that sexy before, but was being forced to revise his opinion. He caught little flashes of a flat, lightly-tanned belly, slim thighs, soft curves under softer skin. Why did she wear such crappy clothes when she had such a nice body?

But he could see something that didn't fit in. Strange, silvery marks along her stomach and arms and legs... and small, half-moon crescents on her palms. Scar marks. Where did they come from?

His concerned musings paused when he realized that Shinichi had stilled. He looked up from the scars to see her staring at him, an expression of shock on her face that was quickly morphing to outrage.

He held up his hands in a peaceful gesture as she took a step forwards. "Meitantei-chan, before you try to kill me-"

He ducked, and a paperweight shot past his head to smash against the wall. Shinichi was searching her desk for a substitute weapon, and KID strode forwards before she could find something better than a paperweight.

"Don't move!", she said, snatching up a small, slim object from the desk and aiming it at him. The tranquilizer watch.

_Christie's_ tranquilizer watch.

"Do you even know how to work that thing?", he asked.

"Of course I do. It's mine."

"No, it's Christie's."

"And mine."

"I didn't know Christie had more than one", KID said, wondering if she had any more. And if he could get his hands on them.

"She didn't", Shinichi said, trying not to look at Pandora, who was sitting on the edge of the bed screaming, **C'mon, KID, ask her, ask her! It's not that damn hard, just ask Shinichi if she's Christie!**

KID frowned in confusion for a moment, then, obviously dismissing it, said, "Is that the same voice-changing device that she had, then?"

Shinichi followed his gaze down to her necklace, which lay on her chest. "Yes, it is."

"Christie really seemed to like that necklace. Why would she give it to you?"

"She _didn't_." Shinichi resisted the urge to stamp her foot as her frustration began to get a hold of her.

"But then..."

KID paused, and Shinichi saw the confused light in his eyes clear. She held her breath.

"Are you...", KID began hesitantly. His eyes drifted back to the necklace.

Pandora looked nervous, but KID didn't seem to realize that it was Pandora's jewel he was looking at. It exhaled a sigh of relief just as the moon came out from the clouds outside. Silver light streamed through the window, and the jewel seemed to burst into ruby red flames as crimson light filled the room.

KID jumped backwards as the light flashed directly into his eyes. He stared at the jewel, then at Shinichi, who was frozen to the spot.

Pandora broke the dead silence by sighing,** Oh, _crap._**_  
_

The startled look in KID's eyes cleared, and he looked at Shinichi with a raised eyebrow. "I don't suppose there's something you should be telling me, meitantei-chan?"

Shinichi looked at him defiantly. "Yeah. KID, meet Pandora. The jewel you're never going to get your hands on."

KID's raised eyebrow was almost lost in his hairline. "I beg to differ."

**You bloody well do not!**, barked Pandora. **Shinichi, don't let him smash me. **

"He's not smashing anything", Shinichi said.

KID looked confused. "Who are you talking to?"

"Pandora."

"You're talking to a stone", KID stated flatly.

Shinichi gave him a brittle smile. "A stone that talks back."

_... I've heard legends that say that Pandora has consciousness. Thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams. That's why it's capable of _crying tears_..._

"Pan-chan", he said.

Shinichi's grin was an answer in itself.

"And... that time, when I knocked you out in the police HQ, when your second personality talked to me..."

Pandora laughed. **And the penny drops! **

"My second personality, as you call her, is Pandora", Shinichi said.

"She?"

"She's been with me so long, she developed the personality of a girl."

KID swallowed. "How long has she been with you?"

Shinichi smiled sadly. "Ever since Toichi gave her to me, eight years ago."

KID looked around. "Is... is she here now?"

Pandora raised an eyebrow at Shinichi.

"Standing right behind you", Shinichi said.

"What does she look like?"

"Me."

"_You?_"

Shinichi looked affronted. "Yes, like me. Except with red eyes."

KID looked unsure for a few moments, then shrugged and grinned. "Nice to meet you, er, Pan-chan." Before their disbelieving eyes, KID swept his top hat from his head, and bowed low in what he hoped was Pandora's direction. Placing his hat back on his head and turning to Shinichi, he said, "I guess that puts back any chance of me destroying it now."

**Really?! **

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, it- she- talked to me." KID glanced at it and went on, "I can't exactly destroy her now."

Shinichi thought she understood what he was trying to say. Conversing with it had given more of a human-like quality than if he had been unable to interact with it- smashing it felt too much like murder now.

Pandora sighed and fanned itself with its hands. **Oh KID, every word you utter just makes me fall even more madly in love with you.**

KID looked at Shinichi's suddenly frozen expression and said, "What's she saying?"

"Nothing", said Shinichi, sounding strangled. She pulled her shirt tighter around her. KID's eyes narrowed at the movement as he remembered the scars, but he kept silent. Shinichi had just given him a huge amount of interesting information, and it was against their unspoken rules that he press her for more.

Besides, asking her about them wasn't really necessary anymore. He recognized the shape of those silver crescents- nail marks. Judging by their position, he had deduced that they were self-inflicted, and there was anger that anything could make her mark her body in such a horrible way.

_I'll stop whatever made you do that to yourself. _

Where had _that_ come from?

"KID?" Shinichi was looking at him carefully. "Are you okay? You look a bit-"

"Oh, meitantei-chan!", KID said dramatically. He threw his arms wide and enveloped her in a bear hug. "I was just thinking about how bad it would be if you no longer came to my heists! No interesting detective to chase me down, solve my riddles, get caught in my traps!"

"Get off me!"

"No, I must hold you, meitantei-chan! For what if this is the last chance we get!"

Shinichi tried to push him away. "Get off me, you idiot! I can't breathe!"

"You wound me, meitantei-chan!"

"You suffocate me, idiot thief."

"Aw, is my close proximity affecting you, Shin-chan?" KID loosed his arms slightly so that he could see her face better. Shinichi glared up at him.

"Don't call me that!"

"But it's my cute nickname for you! Every detective gets a cute nickname!"

Shinichi looked grudgingly interested. "What's Hakuba's?"

"English Bastard."

Shinichi's lips twitched. "That's not very cute."

"_He's_ not cute."

"You're right. He's not cute, he's handsome", said Shinichi, trying to get her own back.

"_Handsome?_"

"Yeah. And smart. You never get people who are both handsome and smart these days- he's a novelty."

"_I'm_ handsome and smart."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know about handsome..."

Pandora giggled.

KID reluctantly dropped his arms and let Shinichi back away. "I _am_ handsome."

"I guess I'll just have to take your word for it, then", Shinichi shrugged.

"Do you still like that fan of mine?", KID said casually.

"Kaito-kun?" Shinichi looked at him sideways. "Yeah, I guess. But we never really get the chance to talk. And he's always with his girlfriend."

"I haven't- I mean, he hasn't got a girlfriend. He told me."

"And you two chat often?"

"He's a big fan of mine. I sometimes talk to him in the crowds at a heist."

"Lucky. Most fans would kill to get a chance to talk to you." Shinichi thought of Sonoko.

"I hope not", said KID, also thinking of Sonoko, who had tried to jump him many times in the past.

"But yes, I still like Kaito-kun", said Shinichi.

KID nodded and tried to hide a gleeful smile.

"Will you still do your heists?"

"Hm?"

"Will you still do your heists? Even though you no longer want Pandora?"

"Of course!", KID exclaimed. "I'll never stop!"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes, good. You might not realize it, but I actually enjoy your heists."

"Even though you spend all your energy trying to catch me?"

"Uh huh." Shinichi yawned.

"Then I'll never stop." KID smiled at Shinichi.

A car passed the house, its headlights shining through the window and blinding Shinichi. She blinked to adjust her eyes and found her room empty once more. A white rose had been left on the bed.

Shinichi picked it up and turned as Pandora nodded decisively.

**Shinichi**, it said fiercely, **Do you still have the handcuffs the police gave you to catch KID?**

"Yes. Why?"

**Have them at the ready. KID always has the upper hand- it's time for things to change! The next time he comes for information... we're gonna ****** him!**

Shinichi clapped her hands over her ears and dove into her bed.

* * *

Kaito lay in bed and thought about Shinichi's scars. One scar in particular. A long, silvery scar over her cheek... the same scar Christie said KID would be able to recognize her by.  
Shinichi looked like Christie. She spoke like her. She acted like her. They walked the same way, had the same posture. Shinichi reappeared the same month that Christie disappeared. The likeness was incredible. Not only that- Shinichi's house was decorated with pictures of who KID had assumed to be Christie, but had later realized was a younger Shinichi.

It was stupid. It was ridiculous. But the thought that Shinichi might be Christie had lodged in his mind and wouldn't get out.

Kaito had never been one for worrying, but he was worrying now.

He thought of Ai Haibara, the only one, apart from Shinichi and Christie, who seemed to know what was going on.

* * *

**Sorry, Shinichi**, Pandora said meekly.

Shinichi nodded but kept her hands firmly over her ears. Pandora sighed.

**Tonight wasn't that bad**, it said brightly. **KID didn't smash me, and we got some time to actually chat to KID... And it looks like he's finally beginning to join the dots between you and Christie.**

"He's almost there."

**I think he already is.**

"How do you mean?"

**When he realized you had my jewel, he reacted as though you were Christie. He asked you if there was 'something you should be telling me', which meant he knew that _you_ knew that he was after it. And only Christie knew that Pandora was what he was searching for. Which means that he already knows you're Christie.**

"So you think he's already worked it out?"

**I think he already knows... but he isn't going to ask you about it until he's in totally convinced.**

"Oh, at last!" Shinichi grinned in relief, then jumped as her phone rang. Who could be calling this late?

"Hello?"

"Shinichi!"

Shinichi winced. "Hello Sonoko."

"Ohmigod, Shinichi, KID just announced another heist!"

"I know. Did you only just hear about it?"

"Yeah! The public's not allowed in, but where there's a will, there's a way! Hold on, I've got another call coming in-"

Shinichi lowered the phone and looked at Pandora. "KID's announced the heist. Looks like he wants an audience."

**Cool.** Pandora paused and looked sideways at Shinichi. **Shin-chan... don't be angry at me, but...**

"Yeah?"

**Are you _sure_ you still have those handcuffs...?**

Shinichi pulled the covers back over her head.

* * *

Sorry about the wait. You know how it is- exams, social life, teenage angst, etc... ^.^'

Conanfan15- To answer your questions:

The Black Organisation chased after Christie (in Chapter 8) because she keeps making their plans go awry, and the constant reappearance of a certain kid would, of course, be noticed. I mean, what are the chances of their plans going wrong every time she appeared? It would get noticed. I was going to let the audience work it out for themselves, but it's okay if there's an explanation needed :)

KID was there because he stalks her. He stalks everyone. He is a super stalker.

Shinichi's hair goes silvery in the moonlight because she is blonde. I'm blonde, and mine does too. But it can be taken as an effect caused by Pandora if you want :) Also, I only read the mangas, and Yukiko's hair always seems blonde to me ^.^'

The 'I want, never get' is just how I say it. There's probably different versions of the saying.

Also, I have no idea what cannon is.

I occasionally make words up, although I think 'huffily' is a real word.

And thanks for correcting my spelling mistakes :) It's nice to know that there's something I can improve on.

I hope I've answered all your questions :)

Thanks for reading Chapter 23! I'll try to do the next one soon :D


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Haibara eyed the thief standing before her, an amused look lingering on her face.

"You want me to tell you what the link is between the corpse-magnet and Kudo-san?"

"C-corpse-? I mean, yes", KID said, valiantly ignoring the smirk spreading itself across the child's face. And why was she wearing a lab coat?

"No can do", she said, turning towards the computer she was sat at. "Christie guessed you would do this, and swore me to secrecy."

KID looked around the room in frustration and noticed what looked like a white egg covered in blue polka-dots resting on the computer desk. One of Shinichi's bombs. An idea tap danced in his mind.

"If I gave you one of my gadgets, would you cooperate with me?", he asked.

Haibara turned back and smirked again. "That depends on what you've got."

KID reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a small toy soldier. He tossed it to the mini scientist, saying, "If you pull the head off, it explodes within five seconds."

Haibara's eyes lit up. A timed grenade! "What do you want to know?"

"You said Christie got poisoned. Is Shinichi suffering from the same poison Christie was?"

"Not anymore. I cured her."

"Which one?"

"Both of them."

"Who poisoned them?"

Haibara hesitated. Should she tell him about the Black Organisation? What if he got killed?

But, it wasn't as if she actually cared what happened to him.

"The Black Organisation", Haibara answered, deciding to compromise- tell him of their existence without giving anything away about them. "Shinichi caught them in the act of blackmail."

KID frowned, although it was impossible to tell. "Then why did they poison Christie?"

"Because she caught them in the act of blackmail", Haibara replied, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

KID paused, then rallied. "Why did Shinichi disappear for so long?"

"She was hiding from the organisation. She still is."

"And I'm guessing that's what Christie is doing too, right?", KID sighed. The ridiculous truth was bearing down on him with the force of a wrecking ball, getting harder to ignore with each passing second.

"That's right."

KID looked at the miniscule scientist and took a deep breath as he prepared to voice his final question. "Is Christie really Shinichi?"

Haibara's eyes were very clear, and they pierced right through KID as she looked up into his face. "What do you think?"

* * *

Shinichi breathed in cool air as she looked up at the stars. She was on the roof of the mansion housing KID's next objective. On one side of her was a dark sky, glittering with tiny pinpricks of light. On her other side, the sky was awash with red, gold, and pink as the sun slowly sank behind faraway buildings.

She felt worried. That morning, she had awoken to find a message flashing across the screen of her laptop, which had been resting on the desk. A message from Vermouth, containing information that Snake would be making an attempt on KID's life that night.

She and Pandora had talked it over and come up with what loosely might be called a plan, but there was no guarantee that there would be no fatalities that night. She had tried her utmost to cancel the heist, and had been met with opposition on all sides.

She and Pandora had formulated a 'plan', but would it be enough?

Of course it would. She had a magic jewel on her side. Everything would be alright.

She glanced at her watch and stood. Ten minutes until KID's heist.

As she left the roof, the last of the sunlight left the sky. The heavens turned inky black.

In a shadowy corner of the roof, KID roused himself and stood. It was time to begin.

* * *

Nakamori scanned the room fiercely. All the exits were covered. The air vents and skylight had been rigged with alarms and traps. Trip wires and lasers protected the jewel. The large windows either side of the room were uncovered, allowing the public crowded outside to see in. Nakamori had figured it would make finding KID easier, since they screamed every time he appeared.

Nakamori saw a figure in a faded grey hoodie appear. It scanned the room, then came to stand beside him.

"Good evening, Nakamori-san. Where's Hakuba-kun?", Shinichi asked, pulling her cheeks to prove her identity.

"He couldn't come today. Someone put dye in his shower and turned him blue", said Nakamori. He glared suspiciously at the taskforce nearest to him.

Shinichi was silent for a moment, her shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth. "Poor Hakuba-kun", she gasped, and moved away hurriedly.

Takamoto sidled up casually. "Hi, Shinichi-chan."

"Hey."

"Your, um, your friend, Mouri-chan. What, er, food do you think she likes?"

Shinichi looked at him, amused. "Why do you want to know?"

"No reason", said Takamoto hurriedly. "Just curious."

"Ran likes pasta quite a lot. She also likes sweet foods, and pastries. And she'll most likely say yes if you were to ask her out to lunch." At Takamoto's startled look, she added, "I apologise- I'm not really all that good when it comes to being subtle."

Takamoto nodded. "In that case, do you think I'd have a chance with her?"

"I expect s-" Shinichi broke off as every trap Nakamori had set up activated at once.

Klaxons screamed, lights flashed, and gas exploded from every air vent. The taskforce all reached for their gas masks to find them missing.

Shinichi strapped her own mask on and watched as the taskforce collapsed. She glanced at Takamoto to find him standing calmly beside her, a white gas mask protecting him from the smoke. Then, the thick white gas blocked him from her view.

She allowed no trace of surprise to show in her face or stance when the smoke cleared to reveal KID standing beside her, casually tossing a bright green gem from hand to hand. Takamoto's taskforce uniform was lying crumpled at his feet.

Shinichi removed her gas mask as the last traces of smoke faded. "Takamoto-kun?", she asked.

"Safely asleep in a stall in a toilet cubicle", KID answered, smiling a little at Shinichi's instant concern for her friend. He pointed to her gas mask. "Where were you keeping that, by the way?"

"Why?"

"I had four minutes to try to get that off you before the traps went off, and couldn't find it anywhere."

Shinichi ignored the implications of what he had said and tried to hide a smirk. "I'm smart enough not to keep anything of value anywhere _you_ can easily reach."

Hidden behind her hood, her eyes darted to the window.

**Relax**, Pandora said. **I'm on the roof now. Nobody to be seen.**

_Just keep an eye out._

Shinichi returned to the situation as KID tossed the gem again.

"Why so nervous, meitantei-chan?"

"Nervous?", Shinichi said sharply. "I'm not nervous."

"Sure you are", KID grinned. "You keep shuffling, chewing your lip. Maybe it's my presence that's effecting you so mu-AAAH!"

KID was forced to break off his sentence and leap away as a soccer ball mysteriously grew out of nothing before Shinichi. She kicked it at him with enough force to shatter boulders.

He swerved out of the way, and then ducked as Shinichi made a grab for the jewel. He executed a neat backflip as another soccer ball whizzed beneath him.

**OHSHIT! Shinichi**, I think I just saw something!", Pandora yelped.

Shinichi froze in panic, then gasped as KID's elbow slammed into her chest. The crowd outside went abruptly silent as she bent over in pain, both arms clutched across her chest.

**Omigod! Shinichi, are you okay?**

"Meitantei-chan?", KID said, panicked.

"He hit me in the boob!", Shinichi hissed.

**Ooh**, Pandora winced.

KID went red. "I- I hit you in the-"

Shinichi moved like a striking snake, kicking KID's legs out from underneath him and planting her foot into the back of his neck.

"You know, you really scared me there", KID said after a few seconds, his voice muffled against the carpeted floor.

"Good", Shinichi muttered, massaging her chest. _Ow._

"Did I really hurt you?"

"Yes", Shinichi rummaged in her pocket and brought out a pair of handcuffs. The crowd outside began screaming and booing. A rock rebounded off of one of the windows.

KID felt worry blossom in his chest again. Why was he worried about her when he was the one about to get arrested? "Is it serious?"

"If you call being hit in the breast serious", Shinichi said angrily, "then yes, I suppose it is."

KID began to get himself into a better position to stand up, but slowly, so that Shinichi wouldn't notice. "Are you in pain?"

"Yes, I'm in pain." There was a clink as Shinichi opened up the handcuffs, and KID began to move a little bit faster. "If you want to know what it was like for me, then visualize me coming up to you in the middle of your heist and kicking you between your legs."

KID winced. "I'm sorry about that." He got his legs underneath him and reared up to a standing position. Shinichi staggered back, but regained her balance before falling. She jerked back as KID swung towards her, then raised her eyebrows when he stood before her and bowed. "I apologize, my dear meitantei-chan", he said melodramatically, one hand over his heart, the other pointed towards her with the palm out. "I never meant to hurt you! Please forgive me, princess!"

Shinichi responded by locking a cuff around his outstretched hand. KID darted forwards and span her around snapping the other cuff around her wrist. She threw a punch at him with her free hand, only to have it caught with the other cuff. She blinked at him. "How did you get the cuff off so fast?"

KID tapped his nose and grinned. "Trade secret, meitantei-chan. But shouldn't you be more worried about what I plan to do to you in front of everyone?"

* * *

Pandora stared down at the man before her. It looked left. It looked right. There was nobody in sight.

Where were the FBI when you needed them? Earlier that evening, using Christie's voice, Shinichi had called in to Jodie for a specially trained force to keep an eye out at their location, fabricating evidence with Haibara's help to get her claim believed. Thankfully, Snake himself was under the eye of the FBI, suspected of multiple assassinations, and they had decided they could spare people to help look out for him. Unfortunately, they hadn't been much use- two of them were currently bleeding from various bullet wounds behind the assassin.

Pandora looked around again. No weapons in sight, apart from the one the man was currently sighting down. What to do?

Maybe if it grabbed the man's legs and pulled upwards, it would be able to tip him off the edge of the building...

Pandora took a step forwards, and the man twitched and span around. They both stared at each other.

Could he see it?

**Hi, my name's Pandora!**, said the jewel cheerfully, deciding to do a test. **What's your-**

BLAM

* * *

They both heard the noise. KID looked out of the window, perhaps expecting to see Sonoko triumphantly waving a shot gun over a fallen KID fan. Shinichi, having felt the gun shot through Pandora, looked upwards.

She saw a glint through the skylight.

Shinichi kicked outwards, propelling KID out of the line of fire.

A spray of blood erupted from her left shoulder, and she fell to one knee. The second bullet grazed her temple, staining her vision red for a few seconds and blasting the hood of her sweater off. She looked at KID's horrified face.

She closed her eyes.

* * *

AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! CLIFFHANGER!

Sorry for the wait. Exams 'n stuff. Please forgive me? *puppy dog eyes*

Also, there's this story two of my friends wrote, (and made me publish on this account) called Keveridge Gets Freaky. They spent literally WEEKS writing it together (it's really not that long, but oh well). It's basically a fanfic about two guys called Laurence and Kier, and they're the two lead singers in a band called the Fearless Vampire Killers (yes, it is really called that. They forced me to go with them and see it live). Anyway, the whole story is yaoi. Yaoi. YAOI EVERYWHERE!

So if you're interested in fanfictions whose whole plot is basically two good-looking men having, ahem, sex with each other, then this is the story for you!

And if you're not, this is still the story for you, because my friends are getting worried that nobody likes it because they aren't getting any reviews. So get down there. And review it. Please.

For friendship. And Yaoi.

And possibly, just possibly, a new chapter by the end of next week.

Yes, I will resort to bribery.

Thanks for reading :)


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Pandora sat up and placed a hand to its forehead. There was something wet and sticky, and there was a crater in it.

He had shot it. He had shot it in the _head._

Pandora stood. A piece of its destroyed head fell and clinked against the ground like china. A second later, it vanished. Pandora could feel an odd sensation in its head, as the crater smoothed over and began to fade.

The man turned and stared in horror at the blonde girl with her writhing forehead.

**You just shot my guardian**, Pandora said dangerously, striding forwards.

The man stumbled back and shot Pandora in the chest, but it had learnt its lesson now. The bullet right right through it without leaving a mark, and the living jewel continued to advance. The assassin stumbled back and tripped over his gun case.

Pandora caught him by his arms before he toopled over the edge of the roof. It studied his face, took in the strong jaw and ridiculous moustache.

**Snake?**, it asked.

The man hesitated, then nodded sullenly. Behind Pandora, amred men crashed through the door to the roof and froze at the sight of Snake swaying on the edge of the roof. Pandora couldn't be seen by their eyes.

**You killed Toichi**, Pandora said calmly, **and now you're trying to kill his son.**

Snake's eyes widened. "His son?!"

"Sir", said a member of the armed unit behind them, "drop your weapon and step away from the edge."

Snake's face set into a sneer. "Go on then", he said to Pandora. "Step back and let them arrest me. I'll come quietly." His hand tightened around the gun.

"Sir-"

**Arrest you?**, Pandora said in mock surprise. **I'm not gonna let them arrest you.**

"What-"

Pandora smiled then, its teeth suddenly triangular. Its eyes glowed red. **You killed Toichi**, Pandora repeated. **I won't forgive you.**

It let go.

* * *

KID watched as a figure plummeted through the skylight to land with a wet thump on the floor below. A handful of seconds later, several black-clad men ran through the doors of the room.

One of them bent over the body. "He's dead", he announced.

"What happened?", Shinichi asked, getting to her feet. She threw the handcuffs to the floor, and slipped the bobby pin she had used to unlock them into her hair. "I thought you had the situation under control."

"We did", said one of the men, "until Snake killed two of our men and jumped."

"Snake?", said KID. The room went silent as the men stared at him, wondering who this strangely-dressed figure was. But KID wasn't looking at them. He was looking at Shinichi. "You caught Snake?"

Shinichi glanced sideways at the corpse. "Well, killed him, actually."

_"You caught Snake?_ After I made you _promise_ not to? You went after him?"

"It wasn't me who promised", Shinichi said, calm in the face of KID's anger. The armed unit began to carefully cover up the corpse, and then went to call an ambulance for Shinichi. They didn't want to get involved in this fight, and obviously didn't recognize KID.

"You- you almost _died!"_

"But I didn't."

"You could have!"

"But I _didn't._ And right now really isn't the time for this." Shinichi glanced at Nakamori, who was beginning to stir.

_"I don't care."_ KID strode forwards until he was nose-to-nose with Shinichi. She took a step back, only to have her uninjured arm caught in his grip.

"You should be happy that Snake's dead."

"I _am_ happy. But why did you do this?"

Shinichi looked at him blankly. "You were in danger."

"But you could have told me, you could have warned me! You didn't have to do this by yourself-"

"I didn't want to! I tried to get in touch with you, but I couldn't! This was the only thing I could do!"

"But you didn't have to do this by yourself!", KID stressed.

"I didn't. Pandora helped me."

"You- ugh." KID paused and rubbed his head. "How do I get this across to you? You didn't have to do this by yourself. You didn't have to shoulder all the stress of it. You have friends and family, you could have relied on them for help. You could have relied on _me._ But you kept quiet about it, and decided not to tell anyone. I _know_ you. This is what you do. And you don't have to."

They were both silent for a few moments, staring at each other. Shinichi rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I get what you mean. I get it. But you can't deny this- if you were me, you would exactly the same thing. We're very alike in that respect, and I don't want to hear you give me any critisism on my actions when you would do te exact same thing in my place. You talk about trust and relying on people and everything, but the truth is that you don't really rely on anyone else but yourself."

KID's jaw set. "Fine. You think I don't trust anyone? Once you're out of the hospital, I'm gonna talk to you. I'm gonna tell you a few things about me, and you do the same. I'm gonna trust you with that information, and you do the same. Sound good?"

Shinichi managed a weak smile. "Sounds good."

* * *

**Your first argument**, Pandora giggled. **Now you really are a couple.**

Shinichi stayed silent as she was led to the waiting ambulance.

**Shinichi?**

_Pandora, why did you kill Snake?_, Shinichi asked. She remembered Pandora's burning hatred, and the satisfaction it had felt as he had smashed into the hall floor. She felt as though the sensation would never leave her.

Pandora went silent. Its imaginary body faded from view, hiding from Shinichi's gaze.

_I'm not angry. I just want to know why._

**He killed Toichi.**

_That he did._

**I hate him from killing Toichi, and I hate him for trying to kill KID.**

_I do too._

**Then you agree with me?**, Pandora said hopefully.

_Seeing the sense of your argument does not mean I agree with it._ Shinichi settled back and close her eyes as he ambulance moved off.

Pandora tried to talk to her and got no response. It probed her emotions and memories. It couldn't feel any anger or hate. Just a simple, tired resignation.

Shinichi knew what Pandora was like. It was a being with emotions, but no physical body- it was not bound by any human laws, and could not be apprehended if it broke any. It was unstable. It had murderous urges, and didn't understand them enough to feel like it had to hide them from her. Shinichi understood that, and, as a result, wasn't too surprised that it was able to murder someone like Snake and rejoice about it afterwards. She was just sad that after all Pandora had experienced, after living through Shinichi's life for so long, after watching the detective apprehend criminals over and over again, it could kill someone so easily without a shred of remorse.

Pandora saw this and was surprised, more so about Shinichi's lack of anger than her views. And, try as it might, it could not engage her in conversation again.

* * *

Sorry it's not all that long.

Also, I think I may have developed a very serious case of writers block. *Begins to sob uncontrollably*.

So, I guess it's a good thing I wrote ahead- I maybe have about two chapters worth in my notebook, so I'll just copy that down. That's probably enough time to get over the block. Maybe. Most likely.

Despite the block, I feel up to something outrageous. I might do a kissing scene. Or kill off a main character, because I am a sadist.

So, yeah, anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, short as it is. Toodles :)


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

_Shinichi watched the lock uncurl from the cage and fall to the floor. It writhed for a moment or two before fading from sight._

_She turned her attention to the cage. The dove was still in there, but instead of looking sad and huddled, it was excited, expectant. It ruffled its feathers and looked at her with bright, sparkling eyes._

_Shinichi smiled and reached up, pulling the cage door open and picking up the dove. It was soft and warm, and looked at her trustingly from the cradle of her hands. Shinichi opened her palms and the dove spread its wings. The bird house disappeared and all of the birds took flight, led by the brilliant white dove._

_Shinichi took a deep breath as her surroundings dissolved around her. She'd done it. She'd finally freed KID._

* * *

Kaito paced his room angrily, occaisonally catching his foot on the corner of his bed. His room wasn't really made for pacing.

There was a knock at his door and Chikage poked her head in. "What's the matter? Why are you making so much noise?"

"It's nothing", Kaito muttered, sitting down on his bed.

His mother walked over and sat beside him. "Honey, Snake is gone. What is there to be angry about?"

"Meitantei-chan got shot."

"But she's okay. Surely you're not angry at _her?"_

"It... it's not like that." Kaito struggled with himself for a moment, then gave in. "Look... don't laugh at me for this..."

Kaito told her everything. His suspicions of Christie being Shinichi, her broken promise not to go after Snake, the mysterious Vermouth, Pandora, and the attempted assassination.

Chikage listened carefully throughout the whole story. It didn't occur to her to doubt anything her son was saying. She knew he wasn't lying.

She nodded. "If I were you, Kaito, I wouldn't be angry at her."

"She risked her life to protect me from Snake and got shot in the process!"

"Exactly. It sounds to me as if she's gone through hell and back during the time she was Christie. Can you blame her for not trusting in anyone? And, judging by what you have told me, it looks like she's still in danger. She did this for _you_, so maybe you should go easy on her?"

Kaito sighed. "I'm not really angry at her. I'm more angry at the situation. This happened at my heist, to someone I care about. Nobody's meant to get hurt at a Kaitou KID heist."

"I know, sweetie." Chikage stroked his hair sadly. "I know."

* * *

Shinichi's eyes snapped open. Pandora's head shot up from where it had been dozing on the window sill. They both stared at each other.

_Did you hear that?_

Pandora nodded and leapt from the window sill as effortlessly as a cat. It peeped around the edge of the door cautiously, then relaxed and settled back onto the window sill.

**It's only KID**, it said, the thief strode into the room.

"Meitantei-chan", KID greeted, with his usual grin. He perched on the edge of the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Out of it", Shinichi said, wincing at she tried to sit up. "These painkillers are really strong."

"Well, they would have to be", KID said, applying gentle pressure onto her uninjured shoulder until she lay back again. "You _did_ just get shot."

Shinichi settled back and looked at him carefully. "You're not still angry about that, are you?"

KID rolled his visible eye and shrugged. "I guess we'll have to see, one you're better." He leant back and moonlight flashed across his face.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow and whisked KID's hat from his head. "I guess we will. But you can stop acting now. Watching you talk with KID's face makes me want to vomit."

Vermouth smirked as she tore the mask of KID's face from her own. "Once again, you live up to my expectations... _meitanei-chan."_

Shinichi glanced sideways at Pandora. Vermouth knew what KID's real face looked like, seeing as the mask was an exact replica. What else did she know?

Shinichi gave Vermouth an unimpressed look. "What are you here for, Vermouth? Isn't it a little early to uphold my part of the deal and take down the Black Organisation?"

"Not quite", Vermouth drawled. "Actually, I came here to warn you. It seems the Black Organisation are finally aware of you. There are people watching your house. Gin has been assigned to track you down and ensure your permenant disappearance. If is ever an ideal time to eliminate a criminal organisation, that time is coming up."

Shinichi's gaze was direct and piercing. "Why would you bother to tell me all this?"

"To uphold your end of the bargain, you need to be alive." Vermouth whipped the top hat from Shinichi's hands and jammed it back onto her head. "I'll be taking my leave now. If the cameras in your house are still there, you know how to contact me."

Vermouth doffed the top hat and walked out.

Shinichi looked at Pandora, who put down the string it had been ready to garrotte Vermouth with.

"Well-", Shinichi began.

**We're screwed.** Pandora summed up what its guardian had been thinking in two simple words.

Shinichi considered this for a few moments, then nodded.

**So... what now?**

"We could always hide... I guess."

**How? If they're watching your house, then they already know you're around. And they'd be watching Ran and the others too. We've managed to keep them out of this for so long... how will we ever be able to protect them?**

Shinichi looked at the jewel in surprise. "I didn't know you cared about them."

The jewel affected an indignant expression. It didn't care, but knew exactly how Shinichi would react once she realized that.

"But you're right", Shinichi said slowly. "If I were to disappear, we wouldn't be able to protect them all..."

They both thought.

**We... well, I guess we could always go back to the house.**

"And get killed."

**No, I mean... well, if the Black Organisation knew for sure it was you, wouldn't they already be here? In the hospital, I mean? So, let's just say they aren't completely sure it's you. Gin was certain he had killed you, so he'll want proof that you're not some imposter before making an attempt on your life again. We could go back to the house and pretend to be oblivious. He would think that you must be an imposter, because wouldn't the great Shinichi Kudo be alert in case of another attack?**

"That's true", Shinichi said slowly, seeing the sense of the jewel's theory, but reluctant to put herself so far into harms way. "But Gin seems the type to just kill me anyway, just to be sure."

**Then we'll call the FBI again. That Josephine-**

"Jodie."

**- woman is tracking them down right? We don't have to tell her about Vermouth, seeing as that's what seems to be her main drive, but we could explain our suspicions to her... I'm sure they'll understand.**

"What if they don't take me seriously?"

**I don't that will be the case, especially after the Snake thing. But if they do, just ask them to watch the house. I'm sure they'll notice that they aren't the only ones watching, and, after that, you can be sure they'll take it seriously.**

Shinichi closed her eyes. She was too tired for this, and the painkillers made it even harder to concentrate. She sighed and lay back. "I'll think about it in the morning", she mumbled. "Right now, I need to sleep."

Pandora nodded and settled back against the window. Shinichi's breathing deepened as she drifted off to sleep. Pandora began to doze again.

The perfect, velvet silence was interrupted by soft footsteps padding down the hall. KID sighed and left the building.

* * *

Another short chapter ^.^'

I was re-reading the story and remembered the bird room dreams Shinichi was having. Hope you got the symbolism, cheesy as it is.

It's my sixteenth birthday today! You must all give me reviews to celebrate XD

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 26 of Moonlight Magician!


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Shinichi looked down at her arm grumpily. It lay against her chest in a sling, limp and useless. She couldn't use it- moving it too much hurt her shoulder- which made even the simplest of tasks unnecessarily difficult.

Pandora wandered past. **Cripple**, it said.

Shinichi wished the jewel had a real body. Then she would be able to trip it up.

Well, at least she was out of the hospital. She'd begged to be let out early, and refused a helper. It was a good thing she had Pandora, who helped her when it could, even if it was intent on being annoying. The jewel might have been taking unnecessary glee in her predicament, but it could be useful when it came to making food and washing up.

Shinichi and KID's close shave with Snake had got them into the papers- Shinichi's hood had fallen back during the assassination attempt. The story had gone out that Shinichi had been working undercover to apprehend Snake, and had spent the past few years gathering information on him before frequenting KID's heists in order to arrest the assassin. Half the world was desperate to speak to Shinichi, who was stubbornly refusing to speak to anyone. She'd spent the last few days alone in her home, with only Pandora for company, trying to ignore the paparazzi camped around her house.

Shinichi put aside the book she had been reading and struggled from the chair she was seated in. It was time to change the bandages on her head, and then take some painkillers before going to bed. The painkillers given to her by the hospital made her slow and drowsy, and she was almost asleep as it was.

There was a noise behind her, and Shinichi whirled around, whipping a small gun from the sling and pressing it to the head of the person behind her. KID blinked, then grinned and pushed the gun away.

"That's a nice way to welcome a guest into your home", he said, pulling the gun out of her hand and inspecting it. "Tranquilizer darts?"

Shinichi smiled grimly. "Real bullets."

KID's violet eyes flickered to hers over the gun before he handed it back. "A tool to kill", he said, unable to hide to slight revulsion in his voice.

"A tool to defend myself", Shinichi corrected, stowing the gun away. She pretended to be unaffected by its presence, but she could still remember the argument she and Ai had had over the weapon. It had taken a lot to convince her to take the gun, and KID's disgust wasn't helping. "So", Shinichi said, trying to distract them both. "Why are you here?"

KID gave her a hurt expression. "Does there have to be a reason?"

"There's always a reason when it comes to you", Shinichi sighed.

Pandora, who had been leaning against the doorway and watching the exchange, frowned in thought. What Shinichi had said was true, now it came to think of it. KID only ever seemed to come because he wanted something, be it information, a prank, or someone to mess around with.

**How depressing**, it sighed, its shoulders slumping.

"That's not true!", KID said indignantly, pouting.

"When did you last come to my house without leaving empty-handed?", Shinichi demanded, her uninjured hand on her hip.

KID glanced at her and bit his lip. She was speaking in a mock-angry tone, but there was a hurt undercurrent. "Can't I visit the person who took a bullet for me?", KID said, avoiding her question.

"It's been almost a week." Shinichi rolled her eyes. "People usually visit their savior before then. A hospital visit would have been nice."

**Oh, yes!**, Pandora chirped. **A hospital visit would have been _lovely._**

_And romantic._

Pandora giggled.

KID pulled a white rose out of nowhere and twirled it absently. "I did visit you. But I decided that I should perhaps do it again while you were awake."

"You visited the hospital while I was _asleep?"_

"Uh huh. And I must say, my dear meitantei-Angel, your sleeping face sure is a sight to behold." He glanced up slyly and was delighted to see a blush spreading across her face. He hadn't seen that in a while. It was funny, but he had kind of missed it.

Pandora drew its legs up to its chest in mid-air and made a weird, high-pitched squeal. **The sound I just made was inhuman.**

Shinichi, concentrating on not making disturbing animal noises, muttered, _Tell me about it._

"Ngh", she said.

KID raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "What's the matter, Shin-chan? Cat got your tongue?"

"Don't... _call me that"_, Shinichi said, spinning on her heel and going into the kitchen. Pandora disappeared as Shinichi walked through it.

**What's the matter?**, it asked in her head. **Weren't you just saying the other day that you wanted him to come visit you? You even said you could handle him coming just to hassle you about Christie as long as you got to see him again.**

_I haven't seen him for a while. Excuse me if I can't handle his flirting, what with my useless arm and you squealing like a distressed puppy!, _Shinichi said sourly.

**Haha... whoops. Sorry. I'll be quiet from now on. Lips zipped. Throwing away the key. Totally silent.**

_Why don't you demonstrate your new found friendship with silence by _shutting the heck up?

Shinichi brought out her painkillers and threw them down her throat with the aid of a glass of water. She ignored KID as he wandered in and concentrated on making hot chocolate for herself.

KID watched her make the hot chocolate and fiddled with the rose in his hands. His eyes focused on the white patch taped to her temple and the sling her arm was in. When she turned around, he pushed the stool by the counter out so she could sit down, and she did without comment. They were both silent for a moment, Shinichi sipping her hot chocolate, KID twirling the rose and looking at her injuries.

"Does it hurt?", he asked quietly.

Shinichi glanced at him. "Not really. It aches when it rains, and I have to be careful not to roll over when I sleep. But apart from that, it's all good." She didn't mention that when her painkillers wore off in the middle of the night, she would awake in the early hours of the morning whimpering from the pain.

KID tipped his head to one side. "Don't your injuries make things difficult? Like making food and dressing and stuff?"

"I have Pandora to help me", Shinichi said, shrugging.

"Pandora?"

Shinichi tapped the necklace. "The magical being that resides in the Pandora stone, remember? It sounds crazy, but it's the truth."

**HA! You admit it! I am magic!**

_I've admitted it before. And what happened to your promise of staying silent?_

**Ah. Whoops.**

"Pandora helps you? With dressing? And, um, showering?"

"Yup." Shinichi sipped her hot chocolate and tried to ignore Pandora, who was floating above her head and apologizing.

KID glared suspiciously at the stone. "And you're sure it's a girl?"

"Well, yeah. Believe me, we have had extensive conversations over the years to assert this fact." She paused and looked at him, finally noticing his strange tone. "Why?"

"Uh... no reason. Just wondering."

Shinichi tipped her head to one side, and took another sip from her mug.

"Is that hot chocolate?", KID asked.

"It is."

"Excellent, I love hot chocolate. Or, any chocolate." KID swiped the mug from her hands and took a gulp.

"You won't like that-"

"Eurgh!" KID spat the liquid back into the mug. "That was disgusting! It tastes like motor oil! I thought you said this was hot chocolate."

"It is", Shinichi sighed, taking the mug back from him and pouring its contents into the sink. "It's a dark chocolate drink. I don't like sweet stuff. We've been through this before."

There was a little pause. "We have, haven't we?", KID said quietly.

Shinichi waited to see if he was going to say anything more. He didn't.

She realized he was waiting for her to say it herself.

_To hell with that._

She turned and smiled at him. "You idiot thief", she said affectionately, snatching the white rose from his hands and holding it up to her face. "Do you get it now? Have you worked it out? Or do you need more time to get your head around it?"

KID didn't say anything. He opened his mouth twice to speak, then shut it again.

Shinichi sighed and handed him back the rose, using her hand to curl his fingers around it. "Hurry up and find me", she murmured, turning and walking out of the room.

KID watched her leave, then stood up to go himself. He paused as he felt a presence by his head.

**For f*ck sake**, Pandora said, turning and going after Shinichi.

KID stood very still and looked at the place where the voice had emanated from. There was nothing there now. The strange presence had vanished.

He thought back to what Shinichi had said, recalled the look of misery on her face as she turned away. He shouldn't have waited for her to tell him her secret- no way was she ever going to do that. And hadn't he promised he would find her first?

But it hadn't seemed like the right _time._

And that was when KID realized that he had completely forgotten to tell Shinichi anything about himself as well.

KID face-palmed himself, knocking his top hat askew._ "Damn it."_

* * *

First off, I'd like to apologize for the huge amount of time you guys have been waiting for this chapter. A month, I think? Maybe more.  
On the upside, my exams are over and it's the holidays! So, that means more time to work on this story, except for a stretch of time (a week) in August where I have to go to Cornwall. There will be no internet access ;^;  
On the downside, I have writers block. Ah yes, my old nemesis. I wondered when it was going to rear its ugly head again. Actually, it's literally taken the best part of a day to work around it in order to create this chapter, but I reckon it was worth it.

I even went online to find techniques to get around writers block. I went for a walk and had a solitary picnic in the local graveyard near my house. Somehow, it worked.

I tried to make a fluffy scene for Mai-chan63 and Lylia00, but my writers block fought back and I got depressed because my computer keep freezing and deleting things and it turned into... this.

Sorry.

Okuri Soji, thanks for that information on the typos. I'll go through it soon ^.^

International Thief 1412, I'll see what I can do to include those other characters.

Hehe, thanks, LP.

shatteredswan, thanks for your million words list XD

a-kun, thank you for your info on Shinichi's name, and yes, Shinichi looking more like Vermouth than Yukiko is a disturbing thought O.O And thanks for your story suggestions.

THANKS ROSEANGEL16!

Meow-chan: I hate Snake. He had to die O.O  
_In a disturbing and painful manner._

Black Emyln: Nope, I haven't read them. They sound really interesting though... I read one of the books ages ago, and I'd love to read the rest, but the library hasn't got them, and it takes weeks to order them *cries*  
And don't worry, you don't sound like a stalker ^.^

Nika,

...That's a nice poem. Did you make it up yourself? Also, do you watch/play too many violent video games/DVD's and/or eat many foods with red food colouring?  
Also your links...  
they didn't work.  
I couldn't click them.  
So I couldn't watch them.  
Much to my disappointment.  
You should do something peaceful, like sit in a sunny field and watch the butterflies.  
But do not kill the butterflies, Nika. That would be wrong, Nika. Are you listening to me Nika? Good, Nika.  
I need to go now, Nika.  
But never fear. There will be updates.  
So don't kill me, Nika.  
Farewell, Nika.

Anyway.

Finally, thanks for all the birthday wishes I received from you guys! I've actually never received that many birthday wishes in my life XD

Bye bye! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 27 of Moonlight Magician!


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Shinichi opened her eyes. She squinted at the clock on the bed side table.

6:45am

Pandora had retreated back into its jewel. Shinichi could hear it mumbling to itself in its sleep. It stirred for a moment, and then settled back down.

Shinichi stared glumly at the ceiling.

_Maybe_, she thought reluctantly,_ I overestimated KID. Maybe it was stupid of me to think he would easily be able to solve the mystery of Christie with so little information._  
_I've let the game go on for too long. I've actually won now, so what's the point of it?_  
_I know why I did it. It's because I wanted someone I could trust with my secret. I wanted someone with the power to find it out themselves, in order to prove themselves worthy of knowing it. If he could find it out himself, he would be a suitable person to share it with. And if he couldn't, then there would be no point in him knowing it.  
But there really isn't any point in him knowing it now. He might not even _want_ to know it, once he learns of the danger that lies within it. There really is no point to it anymore._

_I'm an idiot._

Shinichi felt tears pool in her eyes, and she reached up to wipe at them as they spilled down her cheeks. The movement dislodged something on top of her head and it slipped over one eye. She picked it up and looked at it in the faint light of dawn.

A crown. A crown made of white roses, their stems threaded together to form a soft, fragrant circlet. Sometime during the night, KID had made a crown of pure white flowers and placed it on her head.

Shinichi gave it a watery smile.

* * *

Takamoto watched Nakamori lose his temper for the fifth time that day. He slammed his fists down onto his table repeatedly while roaring at the taskforce to GET THEIR HEADS IN THE GAME AND CATCH THAT DAMN THIEF!

The reason? Another heist note had just been found on his desk, with no one having any clue about how it had found its way there. It contained a riddle, and a mocking message specifically to Nakamori.

Takamoto absently ducked under an ugly vase that Nakamori's energetically flailing arms had sent his way and frowned over the message. KID had wound Nakamori up to the point of no return, and now Nakamori had decided to include Shinichi in the heist. Apparently, she was healing at a much faster rate than expected, and Nakamori took that as a clear sign that she was ready to help them again.

Takamoto was concerned about Shinichi. They had become really close friends, and she hadn't seemed to mind that he and Ran had started going out, despite their previous 'romance' as Sonoko had so charmingly put it. Getting shot had to be traumatic, yet she didn't display any signs of trauma. But she refused to leave the house once getting discharged from the hospital. Granted, the reporters that would undoubtedly dog her every move lest she leave the house would put a bit of a damper on things, but surely it wasn't healthy to stay cooped up for so long?

He and Ran had visited her a few days prior. Shinichi had welcomed them warmly, but spent some time anxiously scanning the street during their visit, in intervals where she felt they would not be looking. On their second visit, Shinichi had left the room for a brief phone conversation from someone she called 'Jodie-sensei', and came back smiling. After that, she no longer watched the streets from her window.

Takamoto found the noise level in the office was getting too high, and left before anyone could launch anymore makeshift missiles at him. What was KID planning? Following advice Shinichi had given him some time before, he tried to think like KID, but to no avail. He wasn't KID, and found it near-impossible to approach his state of mind.

"You okay? You look a little... upset." A member of the taskforce Takamoto couldn't remember seeing before had sauntered over and was leaning against the wall next to him. Violet eyes gazed out from underneath a cap he wore over unruly dark hair.

"I'm okay", Takamoto sighed, rubbing his eyes again.

"What's up?", the stranger said sympathetically. "Is it about KID?"

"Well", Takamoto began. "I was encouraged by Shin- I mean, Angel, to think like KID to predict his next movements. I was trying to use that advice to get inside his head."

"Oh? And how is that working out for you?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid", Takamoto admitted. "I think I'd better leave this stuff to Sh- Angel. I'm not any good at it. I've only succeeded in depressing myself."

"You think Angel's good at thinking like KID, then?"

"That girl", Takamoto said admiringly, "Could think her way through a corkscrew without having to bend. I don't know how she does it." Actually, Takamoto had his suspicions. He had glimpsed, every now and then, Shinichi wearing a wicked smile that belonged on her face more than her usual smiles did. Takamoto suspected that the reason the detective was so good at thinking like KID was because there was a tiny, hidden part of her that was a little like KID.

"So... why were you trying to get into KID's head?"

"I was just wondering why he sent a note that would inevitably drag an injured seventeen-year-old out of her house. I last saw her a few days ago- she can't go anywhere without her pain medication, and can barely walk because of the side effects. And some stupid thief, whose life she _saved_, has now wound Nakamori up to the point of dragging an injured girl into another crazy heist."

"I'm... pretty sure she can walk", the stranger said after a moment. There was a slightly worried tone in his voice, which Takamoto was too absorbed to notice.

Takamoto gave a mirthless laugh. "You obviously haven't seen her have you? Actually, most of the taskforce went to visit her in hospital- Nakamori himself actually took time off to see her. We all saw how she was- I'm not the only one angry at KID right now. Didn't you see her?"

"I'm new to the force, so I didn't get to go", the stranger said hastily. "Anyway, what was that you were saying about Angel's walking?"

"Right, yeah. She got given new pain meds because the old ones weren't suitable for her wounds at that stage. The new ones make her drowsy, and they make her feel ill. She said the whole time she's on them, which is most of the time, she feels like the walls and floor are pitching like waves. She can't stand up in case she falls over. I haven't the slightest clue how she's gonna survive the night."

The stranger now looked distinctly worried, a fact that Takamoto was continuing to miss. Then, his face cleared. "You're forgetting about KID's rule: no one gets hurt. I'm sure KID won't let anything happen to her- and he'll definitely be extra vigilant after her getting shot. Plus, a world-famous thief wouldn't be stupid enough to make Angel run around after him during a heist. There's no need to worry- besides I doubt anything will happen at the heist. There's been no indication of danger, and that Snake person is gone."

Takamoto's expression didn't change. "I know. But there's no guarantee that nothing will happen. It's impossible to predict the future."

* * *

A phone rang. Shinichi's eyes snapped open. She was on her back in her bed, lying like she was in a coffin. The reason for this was Pandora, who had, for reasons best known to itself, conjured up a body in the middle of the night, and now lay face-to-face with her, all limbs wrapped around her.

Shinichi fought to extract herself as the phone continued to ring. Pandora mumbled in its sleep and tightened its grip.

"Get off of me you stupid-", Shinichi grunted. She managed to get one arm free and pressed down on Pandora's head, trying to wake it up. Its snores turned to whistles as the direction of its windpipe was changed.

"What a lovely sight to see, meitantei-chan."

Shinichi looked up, craning her neck. KID was perched on her window sill, framed in the afternoon sun. Shinichi thought about how weird her jerking and bucking in the bed must seem to him, seeing as he couldn't see Pandora. Then, she realized that KID was holding Pandora's jewel in his bare hand.

"Give that back!", she demanded, reaching her free hand out as though she could reach him.

KID tipped his head to one side, then walked up to sit next to her and Pandora on the bed. "Why in bed so early, meitantei-chan?"

"The painkillers make me tired. Will you _please_ give that back now?"

"Aaw, my favorite detective reduced to begging. But no. I'm kind of enjoying the view right now."

The phone continued to ring. KID picked it up and listened to the voice at the other end. "It's for you", he said. He held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?", Shinichi said, still trying to push Pandora off her with her free hand.

"Shinichi-chan? It's Takamoto. KID's sent another heist note. Nakamori wants you to attend. I'm sorry about this, but Nakamori is hell-bent on catching him."

Shinichi glared at KID, who gave her one of his insane smiles.

"I... I guess I'll be there."

"Could we send the heist note over to you?"

"Send it by email."

"Sure."

"And send someone to pick me up. I don't think I can make the journey by myself."

"Of course. See you, Shinichi-chan. Ran says hi."

How sweet. Shinichi smiled. "Tell her I said hi back."

"Is it really so bad you can't make the journey?", KID asked, placing the phone back onto the bed side table.

"It's the meds", Shinichi said wretchedly. "If it weren't for the side-effects, I'd be okay with making the journey alone. Get off of me!" This last remark was directed at the comatose Pandora.

KID grinned, and Shinichi's expression became wary.

"What? What is it? What are you planning?"

"Calm _down_, meitaintei-chan!", KID laughed.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You have that look you get before you throw a glitter bomb at someone!"

"I'm not going to throw a glitter bomb at you."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking something."_ Just thinking how cute you looked all trussed up in a ghostly copy of yourself, not that I'm ever going to say that to you._

But why not? He was KID, after all.

"It's just that you look so cute like that."

"Cu-"

"Adorable, in fact."

Shinichi's cheeks went pink. "Very funny. Hilarious."

"I'm not kidding, if you'll excuse the pun."

Pandora opened its eyes.** Who are you talking to- oh. **It sat up and looked at KID. **I could always trip him up, Shinichi**, it said enthusiastically. **Or I could go downstairs and get those new gadgets the Agase got us. Shinichi? Are you still asleep? Shinichi? Do you want me to do anything? I could get those handcuffs.**

"Handcuffs?!", KID blurted. Shinichi placed a hand over her face.

**Whoa. That was weird. Shinichi, is he psychic? Shinichi? Why are you both-** It stopped as it saw its jewel in KID's hand.

"KID can see you", Shinichi said, sitting up.

**KI-KI-KI-KI-**

"KI?"

**KID'S HOLDING** **ME!**, Pandora squealed.

KID shot Shinichi a slightly alarmed look. Shinichi gave him a grin that had echoes of his usual insane smile.

**Can I hug you?**, Pandora asked him breathlessly.

"Regrettably, dear lady, I'm afraid I must depart for now", he said hastily. He got to his feet and tossed Shinichi the stone. Pandora vanished from his sight the moment it left his fingers. "I'll see you at the heist?", he asked Shinichi.

She put on the necklace, for some reason unable to look him in the eyes. "I suppose so."

KID smiled and departed.

* * *

Shinichi sat hunched over on the seat, her breathing shallow. She was at KID's heist. Before she left the house, she had taken a few painkillers, and the side-effects were already beginning to effect her. The floor moved like a granite-coloured sea, and the walls were beginning to bend towards her. Shinichi squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. There. All back to normal. For now.

Someone knocked on the door of the cubicle. "Shi- Angel?" It was Takamoto, sounding mortified at having to come into the woman's toilets.

"I'll be out in a minute", Shinichi called. "Go wait for me at the display case."

She heard Takamoto leave, and concentrated on steadying herself. It would be okay. She would be okay.

* * *

KID saw Shinichi enter the hall just before he started his heist. She was swaying slightly as she walked, and her breathing was quick and shallow. Her face was hidden beneath her hood to protect herself from the crowds and the numerous camera crews that were also in the room.

KID bit his lip as Shinichi leaned against the far wall at the back of the crowd instead of mingling with the members of the public like she usually did. Poor Shinichi.

Stupid Nakamori-keibu. KID would deal with him soon.

KID made his appearance.

* * *

Shinichi looked up as KID appeared in a cloud of white smoke several meters above the display case. The display case itself shattered, exploding outwards, the jewel disappearing in a cloud of smoke and somehow appearing again in KID's gloved palm. The shards of glass stopped as though freeze-framed and hung motionless in the air, catching the light. Then, they all collapsed to the ground, as though whatever invisible strings that had been holding them up had been cut.

Shinichi felt a wave of nausea roll over her and held still until it had passed. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.

"GET HIM!", Nakamori ordered, and the taskforce charged.

Shinichi shook her head. Stupid, so stupid. When had that plan ever worked? She looked up and made eye contact with KID. They shared a moment exasperation at the taskforce's idiocy before they reached him. He dropped from the sky into the crowd of them and was off, leaping, spinning, using their heads and spring boards to reach the edge of the taskforce crowd. The usual chaos ensued- smoke bombs, glitter, feathers, before KID reached the edge of the crowd and dove into the mass of civilians.

Shinichi sighed in relief. Looked like the heist was over without her actually having to do anything. She felt a presence at her shoulder, and turned to see a boy with violet eyes and unruly hair standing beside her.

"Hi", Kaito Kuroba said cheerfully.

Shinichi smiled. "Hello. I'd be saying what a surprise it is to see you here, but then I'd be lying."

"Would you", he said good-naturedly. "Would you really."

They looked at the taskforce scrum in silence for a few minutes.

"It's actually quite relaxing, seeing them like this", Shinichi said after a while. "They're always so loud and... vigorous. It's nice seeing them all shell-shocked and slumped on the floor."

"Especially Nakamori-keibu", Kaito agreed. He'd had a private word with him during the confusion, and now wondered if he'd maybe overdone it.

Kaito became aware that Shinichi was panting quietly, her hand over her stomach. He went to point it out, then stopped, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate attention being drawn to it.

Instead, he said, "Would you like to go get a takeaway or something?"

"That would be nice", Shinichi said gratefully.

They turned and left.

* * *

Here's another chapter for your enjoyment ^.^

I'm trying to think of a fluffy scene. Was this fluffy enough? It's too late at night for me to tell. I suspect the fluffyness was a figment of my imagination.

I'll start another chapter tomorrow.

Night night :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Aoko was watching Kaito. He had arrived late to school that day, as usual, but hadn't played it up by pulling a prank. He had been quiet all day, gazing silently out of the window, and jumped whenever someone talked to him. He hadn't noticed the bell ringing to signal the end of the lesson, and hadn't even bothered to steal Hakuba's watch from him. The whole class was on edge, glancing at him nervously every few minutes and flinching when he shifted in his seat.

Something was wrong.

The bell rang as the final lesson ended. Everyone began packing up as fast as they could, throwing their belongings into their school bags and rushing out of the classroom. A few people poked their heads back in, seeming even more terrified that Kaito hadn't even moved.

Aoko went to stand by his desk. His chin was cradled in his palm, and he was still looking out the window. He gave a small sigh.

"Kaito-kun?", Aoko said, trying for the gentle approach. He didn't move. "Kaito-kun? Hello?"

Kaito gave another sigh and started chewing his lip.

"BAKAITO!", Aoko barked. Kaito jerked, his elbow sliding off the edge of the desk, and his head dipping down. He steadied himself before his head connected with the desk and glared at Aoko.

"What?", he snapped.

"Class is over! What are you still sitting there for?"

Kaito blinked and scanned the classroom. "Ah... really?"

"No, I'm lying", Aoko said sarcastically. "What is with you today? You've just been daydreaming all the time!"

"Have I?", Kaito said helplessly.

"Is something the matter?", Aoko said, making her voice gentle. He looked lost, which was unusual for him.

Kaito suddenly recovered his poker face and grinned at her. "Nah, it's nothing! I was just thinking of KID's new heist!"

Aoko glared at him. "That one last night?"

"Yeah! It wasn't as showy as I would have liked, but it was pretty cool all the same!" It was true. KID would have wanted to do something spectacular, but that ran the risk of Nakamori getting meitantei-chan too involved and her overexerting herself. Stupid Nakamori-keibu.

"My dad came back from that really late last night", Aoko said angrily. "I swear KID did something horrible to him. He was pale, and he didn't talk to me at all!"

"That's because he did something bad", Kaito muttered.

"What?" Aoko's hearing was spectacular.

Kaito cleared his throat. "You know that detective that got shot helping with the heists?"

"Shinichi Kudo? I think she's still in hospital."

"She got discharged early, and Nakamori-keibu got her involved last night", Kaito said, trying not to sound too angry. "She was still weak, and he told her to come to the heist."

"Did he?" Aoko's anger went in a different direction. If that was true...

"I expect KID had a word with him last night", Kaito went on. "I found mei- Shinichi-chan in the crowd and had to take her home."

"You two know each other, right?", Aoko said, thinking back to the few times they had conversed in the café.

"Yeah. She's a nice person- she doesn't deserve to have her recovery disturbed."

Aoko thought a moment. "I'll have a word with dad. He gets too carried away sometimes..."

They walked home together, both lost in their own thoughts. Kaito thought back to the night before, the same subject that had kept his attention throughout the day.

He and Shinichi had wandered into a fast food restaurant and eaten their food outside, leaning against the metal railings of the car park fence. The cold seemed to help with Shinichi's nausea. They chatted as they ate- about the heist and KID, about how Shinichi's recovery was going, about their school life and hobbies. Shinichi was grinning all through talking about the heist and KID, which made Kaito hastily change the subject. There was something about the way she looked sideways at him while they were on the subject that made Kaito nervous.

Kaito had walked her home, unconvinced that the tranquilizer watch and ball belt she was wearing would protect her from any late night lurkers. And, as they said their goodbyes at her front door and Kaito turned to go, Shinichi had added, "Night night, Kaitou KID."

Kaito had called goodbye, then paused.

Shinichi had laughed. "I win."

Kaito had spun around just in time to see a grinning Shinichi shut the door. He had stared at the wooden door in silence, his mind whirring. The hall light was still on, and he thought that he could feel her presence on the other side of the door.

"Night night, Christie Edogawa." As Kaito walked down the garden path, the hall light clicked off.

* * *

Pandora whooped as Shinichi tore off the sling holding her arm to her chest and threw it to the floor. It grabbed its guardian around the waist and spun them both around. **No more sling!**

"No more stupid painkillers!"

**Freedom!**

Shinichi had received a phone call from the hospital reminding her of the estimated time taken for her shoulder to heal sufficiently enough to remove the sling. She had tested the shoulder and found it well enough to move.

"I can take a shower! I can take a shower _by myself!"_

**I don't have to do the housework!** Pandora was practically crying.

"I... I'm going to take a shower. I'm going to take a shower _right now."_

**Go forth, my son!**, Pandora waved as Shinichi climbed the stairs to the bathroom.

Half and hour later, Shinichi left the shower and got dressed in her room. She was grinning widely as she inspected herself in the mirror. There would always be a long, thin scar along her temple to match the one on her cheek, but she could brush her hair over it. She also had pale, puckered spot in her shoulder that would never fade. Shinichi shrugged as she went downstairs. She was lucky the damage hadn't been worse.

The doorbell rang. Pandora peeped through the window, forgetting it couldn't be seen anyway, and announced that it was Ran, Sonoko, and Takamoto. Shinichi let them in.

"Shinichi-chan!", Ran gasped. "Your... your bandages are gone!"

"I got to take them off today", Shinichi smiled.

"That's great!", Takamoto said. "Does that mean you can finally ditch those painkillers?"

"Yeah. You have no idea how happy I am."

"Shinichi-chan", Sonoko said, "We're going down to the café. Do you want to come with?"

"Sure. Just let me get my things.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Shinichi was wishing she hadn't agreed to come. Ran and Takamoto had left to order at the till and were still in line. While they were gone, Sonoko was taking it upon herself to quiz Shinichi about KID.

"So, how tall would you say KID-sama is?"

"I don't know... he's taller than me."

"Taller than me, then?"

"Yes."

"What about his teeth? Would you say they're more round, or squarish?"

"I... squarish, I guess."

"Oh, squarish teeth are so cute! So, what about his skin? Is it more tanned or pale?"

"I don't know, Sonoko", Shinichi said, quickly becoming impatient. "It's kind of hard to tell when one of us is always chasing the other-"

"Well, what about his eyes? What colour would you say they are?"

"Don't you have a boyfriend?", Shinichi snapped.

"Well, yeah... but Makoto-san is never around and KID-sama is so cool..." Sonoko caught sight of the look on Shinichi's face and added hastily, "Although I would never be unfaithful to Makoto-san. He's the only man for me."

"Oh." Shinichi had seen this before. People who idolized KID to the point of obsession while not having any particular romantic interest for him.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, Shinichi-chan."

"What?"

"I don't know how you don't like KID-sama. Some people would give their right arm to be in your place, and yet you have absolutely no interest in him. You only care about catching him."

"I- well..." Shinichi felt her cheeks heat up. "Um, yeah. It would be unprofessional."

Behind her eyes, Pandora snickered.

_Shut up._

"You couldn't sneak me in again, could you?", Sonoko asked longingly.

"KID's heists are almost always open to the public."

"Yeah, but remember at the Stargazer? You invited me and those other fans in and even gave us a chance to _touch him."_ Sonoko gave a shiver of delight before she continued. "I know that it was all to get the jewel off of him, but it was a really cool thing to do. No chance you could do it again?"

Shinichi tried not to laugh at the memory of KID being glomped. "I'd love to, Sonoko, but KID kind of depends on me to make his heists interesting. Goodness knows what he'd do if I tried the same thing twice. Plus, he knows where I live, so my house makes a great place to prank someone."

"Oh yeah, I see your point." Sonoko frowned, then pouted. "Maybe I'll get the chance to touch him during the next heist."

"Did you get to touch him before?"

"Yeah. Someone in a hoodie opened up his shirt, drew on him, and then helped me through the crowd so I could touch him. I'd love that person for _ever-"_ Sonoko paused and looked at Shinichi. "That was you, wasn't it? I keep forgetting you're the detective that's been helping catch KID for all this time."

Shinichi shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well... KID wasn't trying hard enough at besting me, so I thought I'd give him a proper reason to. And then I saw you there trying to get through, so..."

"Hmm..." Sonoko looked hard at Shinichi. "You sure you don't have a thing for him?"

Shinichi went pink. "Of- of course not."

Sonoko grinned. "Well, even if you did like him, there's no guarantee he'd like you back. After all, you are a detective, and he is a thief."

Sonoko wasn't prepared for Shinichi's embarrassed expression to suddenly become miserable. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's a stupid idea, right?"

Sonoko cast around wildly for a way to banish Shinichi's sudden misery. Brutal honesty battled against concern for her friend. "But- but KID always flirts with the detectives and his fans, so at least you have that! Not that I'm saying you like him or anything, but at least you can pretend he likes you, right?!" There, that was the best she could do.

Shinichi smiled weakly, recognizing Sonoko's clumsy attempt to cheer her up. "Yeah."

"Oh, look, Ran and Takamoto are back!", Sonoko exclaimed, massively relieved.

"Hi! Is... something the matter?", Ran said uncertainly, looking from Shinichi to Sonoko. She'd always been good at reading the mood.

"Why would something be the matter?", Shinichi said innocently, all trace of misery miraculously gone. Ran stared hard at her before dismissing it and sitting down at the table.

The waiter brought their food over and they began to eat. Shinichi listened mostly to the conversation, enjoying the feeling of being part of a group again. Afterwards, they went their separate ways, Ran and Takamoto leaving together, and Sonoko heading to her own house.

Shinichi walked along in silence. She was alone, if you didn't count the group of reporters dogging her every step in the hope she would do something interesting. Pandora was silent in her head, content with just watching the scenery go by. Despite the bite in the air, the sun was shining, warming the crown of her head. Shinichi felt happier than she had for a long time.

At the end of her street, she passed a group of children playing on the street. She glanced down absently to find it was Ayumi, Genta, Haibara, and Mitsuhiko. Genta was clutching a football.

"We need a referee!"

"But there isn't anybody left!"

"We never had this problem when Christie-chan was here", Ayumi sighed.

"Oh", Haibara said, catching sight of Shinichi. "Long time no see, Kudo-chan."

"Hey there, Haibara", Shinichi said. She smiled at the others. "Hi."

"Hi", said Ayumi shyly.

"What's up?"

"We need a referee", Haibara said, gesturing to the football.

"Have you tried Agasa?"

"He's asleep", Haibara said, rolling her eyes. "He was working on something for you late last night. I'll drop it round later."

"Thanks."

"I know!", said Genta, brightening up. "Why don't you be our referee?" He turned to the others. "Christie-chan said we could go to her when we had a problem, right?"

**I think they're abusing the meaning of 'problem'**, Pandora said wryly.

_Well, it's not as if we have anything better to do._

**What about the Black Organisation?**

_Jodie-sensei called to say that I should act normally to lure them out into the open. Apparently, they suspect I might be an impostor, and therefore, I should just act normally until they decide to act._

**Oh, okay.**

_Why don't you know this? You've got to learn to listen._

**_Sorry_**, Pandora said huffily, not sounding sorry at all.

"Sure, I could be your referee", Shinichi said. She sat on the kerb and watched as the children played a very aggressive form of football. Happy though she was, she knew that those rare, peaceful moments weren't to last.

* * *

Shinichi woke up and frowned at the ceiling. Her book lay on the floor beside the chair she had fallen asleep in. She was in the library.

She blinked, disconcerted, and looked out the window. The sky outside was pitch black, which made her feel strange, seeing as it had still been light out when she had fallen asleep.

Shinichi wondered what had woken her. She went to reach down for the book, only to find herself face-to-face with Haibara.

"Gah!" Shinichi threw herself back, the heavy chair skidding away a couple of inches before stopping. Haibara regarded her with dry amusement.

"Boo", she said.

"Don't do that!"

"I said I would be coming over later to drop the new gadgets off."

"It's like two in the morning! Do you ever sleep?"

"I do. Sometimes."

"Children need at least twelve hours of sleep each night", Shinichi said in a sing-song voice.

Haibara glared at her._ "I know."_

"Hold on... I didn't ask Agasa for anymore gadgets."

"He was just tinkering around the other day, and made some things that he thought could be useful to you, especially at your heists. You _did_ get shot after all... I think this is Agasa's idea of a get-well-soon present."

Shinichi smiled. How nice of him. "What did he make?"

"Some more of those smoke bombs... and he built more chambers into your watch so you can shoot more darts... and this."

Shinichi looked down at it. "This is..."

Haibara told her.

Shinichi stared down at it in disbelief and laughed. "This... this is..." She laughed again. "Oh my goodness! This... I can't wait to try it out!"

Haibara grinned, also unable to hide her glee. She'd been pretty excited when Agasa had made it, although she'd gone to great pains not to show it. "I know. It's great, isn't it?"

"This is brilliant!"

"The next time there's a heist, tell me beforehand so I can go to watch you use it", Haibara said. "I can't wait to see that thief's face when he sees this..."

"Me too!"

Shinichi and Haibara both grinned at each other in glee, the late hour totally forgotten.

* * *

A shadow fell across Kaito's desk. He looked up to see Hakuba standing over him, glaring fiercely. His skin had a faint, green tinge to it.

"Why, Hakuba!", said Kaito with the faintest of pleasant intonations. "It's nice to see you back in school again!"

"Yes, and it's good to be back, Kuroba-kun. I finally managed to get that green dye off."

"Green dye?"

"Yes, the one you _rigged my shower with",_ Hakuba snarled.

Kaito fought to keep the smirk off of his face. "I simply haven't the faintest inkling of what you're talking about, Hakuba", he said. "However, it is a pleasure to have you back."

Hakuba leaned forwards until he was invading Kaito's personal space. "I don't know what your game is", he said in a low, threatening voice, "But I'm going to find out. These things keep happening to me every time you hold a heist."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Is this another one of your stupid rants about me being Kaitou KID? You're being ridiculous, you know?"

"What are you trying to keep me from?"

"Okaaay. I'm gonna ignore you now", Kaito said, giving him a weirded-out look.

"Is it the jewels? Is there something special about them?"

Kaito whipped a newspaper out of nowhere and held it up over his face. Hakuba glared at it in frustration and stalked back to his seat.

Behind the newspaper, Kaito sighed. Looked like the dye wasn't going to work anymore. Hakuba was determined to go to his next heist. Of course, there were a lot of ways to stop him from going, but that didn't stop Kaito from being troubled.  
Hakuba had asked why Kaito was putting so much effort into keeping him from the heists, but the truth was that he didn't really know himself. All he knew was that every time he saw Shinichi and Hakuba together, he felt a sour sensation in his stomach. Jealousy. And Kaito didn't like feeling jealous- it was an ugly emotion and put him off his game.

_Glue_, Kaito decided. _I'll try glue. He can't come to the heists if he's been glued to the ceiling of his room._

* * *

Here's Chapter 29. Any reviews would be much appreciated ^.^


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Shinichi stared down at the heist note. Nakamori watched her anxiously, ignoring the taskforce members that peeped around the doorway to his office to watch the detective at work. No matter how many times they saw it, it still amazed them how she was always able to solve the heist notes so easily.

"Got it!", Shinichi announced in a matter of seconds. She reeled off the time, location, and objective of the heist before standing up to leave.

"Kudo", Nakamori said suddenly.

Shinichi turned to look at him. "Yes, Nakamori-san?"

"I... see you no longer have any bandages on?"

"Yes, my injuries have healed sufficiently enough for me to remove them."

"So... you feel alright, then?"

Several members of the taskforce exchanged glances.

"Yes, I am alright."

"Oh, that's good. Good." Nakamori rocked back of his heels uncomfortably.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. She was pretty sure she knew the reason for his sudden concern. "I feel totally fine, Nakamori-san. Apart from the odd twinge, I feel as good as I always do. So, I am perfectly capable of attending this next heist, as long as I don't physically exert myself." Shinichi searched for a way to say the next part without making a fool of Nakamori in front of his subordinates. She was aware that her natural blunt way of speaking was going against her. Finally, she opted for, "And I'm sure the idiot thief knows it as well." She gave Nakamori a significant look as the taskforce frowned, wondering what she was talking about.

Nakamori's face cleared. "Ah. Good. That's good."

"It is, isn't it", Shinichi said cheerfully. "Goodbye, Nakamori-san. I'll see you at the next heist. " She turned and walked away.

**Boy, KID must have really scared Nakamori, huh?**, Pandora said wonderingly, as Shinichi exited the building.

_Yeah. But it's nice to know Nakamori won't readily put me in that situation again._

**Yeah. That's something.**

"Shinichi-chan!"

She turned to see Hakuba running towards her. She waited for him to catch up to her. He braced himself against his knees, panting heavily.

"Sorry", Shinichi said. "I was... thinking about something."

"It's okay", Hakuba gasped, straightening up. "I heard there was another heist note?"

"Yeah, I just solved it."

"Could you tell me what it said?"

Shinichi frowned, but told Hakuba anyway.

**We're like, right next to the building**, Pandora said irritably. **Why doesn't he just go in there and ask them?**

Hakuba thanked her, then looked at her with sudden suspicion. "Shinichi-chan... I don't suppose you could pinch your cheek? Like Nakamori does to the taskforce?"

"Er... okay." Puzzled, Shinichi pinched her cheek and pulled it away from her face. Entranced, a child walking past stopped to watch the mad lady contorting her face for the blonde man.

"Thank you", Hakuba said, relieved.

Shinichi released her cheek. "Are you okay? You seem a little on edge."

Hakuba rubbed his face. "It's KID", he said wearily. "Or, I very much suspect it's him. Someone keeps rigging my shower with different coloured dyes. It's done randomly, so I never know when I'm being pranked."

"Maybe you should... go shower somewhere else?"

"I tried that", Hakuba sighed. "But it keeps happening. I think he follows me. But it stopped a few days ago when I confronted him."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily. The shower pranks have stopped, but he seems to have upped his game to make up for it. The other day, I walked into my room only for a net to catch me and dangle me in the air. Once, I was knocked out by a cloud of sleeping gas and woke up to find all my clothes gone."

Shinichi eyed Hakuba worriedly. "_All_ your clothes?"

Hakuba sighed. "He dressed me up in a sort of puffy gown."

Shinichi analysed his expression. "Pink?", she said sympathetically.

"Pink", Hakuba confirmed sadly.

"Oh dear."

"I think he's got a reason for doing it."

"Oh?"

"All these things seem to happen whenever there's a heist. I think he's trying to keep me away, for some reason."

"Why would he want to keep you away? Doesn't he like detectives at his heists? For the excitement we engender."

"I know. But, for some reason, he's trying to keep me away. And I can't figure out _why."_

"Wait- you said you confronted him?"

"There's someone I'm sure is KID. The same attitude, voice, height, age- everything. I asked him about it, and, sure enough, the pranks increased. I _know_ he's KID, I just need to find some incriminating evidence."

"Who do you suspect?", Shinichi asked curiously.

"A boy in my class. He's called Kaito Kuroba."

Pandora burst out laughing. Shinichi concentrated on not letting her face show anything. "Really? We've met before."

"Oh yes, I remember. What do you think? Do you think he's KID?"

Shinichi thought for a moment. "I think", she said seriously, "That the real KID wouldn't be so sloppy as to let you join his class. I don't think he'd allow his KID persona to show either, at least, not in class."

"So you don't think it's him?"

Shinichi shrugged. "I haven't spent enough time with him to come to a proper conclusion. Give me some time to think about it."

Hakuba nodded. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you to be careful. KID might decide to prank you too, seeing as you attend his heists more regularly than I. Keep an eye out."

Shinichi nodded. "Sure. Thanks, Hakuba-kun."

They went their separate ways.

Pandora gave a little sigh. **I love KID.**

_What? Where did that come from?_

**He's mysterious, gallant... and now he's pranking Hakuba.**

_I don't get why you dislike him so much._

**He's so... squirmy. He's like a sea slug!**

Shinichi gave this some thought, then mentally shook her head. _I don't get it.__ If anything, Hakuba needs to become more 'squirmy', as you so elegantly put it. He's too rigid._

**Oh, he's rigid, all right. But he's squirmy too. At least, around girls he is.**

_Like I said, I don't get it._

**That's because you're dim when it comes to romance!**, Pandora pointed out gleefully.

_Excuse me, but I believe the one who had to be reminded what a cupboard was is you_, Shinichi snapped.

**... You promised you wouldn't bring that up again**, Pandora mumbled.

_If you insult me, I insult you, Pan-chan._

**Oh, shut up, Shin-chan!**

* * *

Haibara looked up as the phone rang.

"Hello?", she said into the receiver.

_"Hey, it's me",_ said Shinichi's voice on the other end.

"Hi, me. What do you want?"

_"You wanted me to inform you of the next Kaitou KID heist. There's one tomorrow night."_

"There is? I'll be there."

_"Do you want me to sneak you in? I could probably get you somewhere you can see us, if you don't mind the shoving from the crowds."_

"That would be great."

_"Good. Also, I advise you to wear clothes you're not too attached to. Or perhaps a rain mac. KID's heists can be a little... messy."_

* * *

Shinichi scanned the crowd in silence. Half the taskforce was doing the same, not letting anybody near the display case. They were serious-faced, and weren't chatting like they usually did. They had a Plan.

**This is stupid**, Pandora said.

_How so?_

**It doesn't matter what the plan is. They're not fast enough to capture KID!**

_...You've turned into a full-fledged KID fan, haven't you?_

**Not at all! I'm just being realistic.**

_Hmm_, Shinichi said, not quite convinced. _Well, a word of warning: KID won't be able to see you glomping him, so if I were you, I'd refrain from doing so._

Pandora ignored her remark. **It's not a very good plan.**

_It's better than what they usually do._

**_Anything_ is better than what they usually do**, Pandora sighed.

_Do you have a better idea?_, Shinichi snapped.

**No...**

_Then be quiet._

Pandora grimaced. Whoops, Shinichi was angry. She was usually quite laid-back, to the extent that Pandora often forgot that she had feelings to hurt. **Sorry.**

Shinichi shrugged, still glaring in the direction of the display case.

**Do you want me to help? I could... um... trip KID up! And use his gadgets against him! I could steal his things without him noticing and bring them to you! And, and, uh, throw a taskforce at him!**

Shinichi smiled reluctantly. _Throw a taskforce?_

**Yeah! **Pandora cackled at the mental image. **Imagine KID's face at seeing a taskforce flying through the air at him! That would be funny! Oh, let me do it!**

Shinichi shook her head, still smiling. _It's a great idea, but I'd rather get through the evening without any fatal injuries. You get carried away sometimes._

**I wouldn't this time.**

_No, Pandora. But it's a good idea. Maybe another time, when there are less breakable objects._

**Cool!**

Shinichi swallowed her grin and went back to scanning the crowd. A boy to her left, dressed similarly to her in a coat with the hood pulled up, caught her eye, and she looked him over before calling out, "Hakuba!"

Hakuba span around and clapped his hand over her mouth. "Shhh!"

Pandora shrieked, **Ew, Shinichi, he's touching your mouth! Get him off, get him off!**

Shinichi looked at him in surprise and raised her eyebrows. Hakuba flushed and pulled his hand away. "Er... sorry."

Shinichi looked at him carefully before speaking. "Are you... okay?"

"What? Yes."

"Only your skin is blue. And your hair is pink. And your eyebrows are green. And you have glitter on your lips."

Hakuba yanked his hood up higher. "KID got me."

"Well... at least you have your coat to hide it", Shinichi said, trying to find a good side to the situation for him. "But it's a winter coat... aren't you a little hot?"

Hakuba glanced around to check that no one was listening before leaning closer and whispering, "He glued me inside a dress."

Shinichi's expression was suddenly wooden as she attempted to hide her laughter. It wasn't helped by Pandora whooping in her head. "Is that all?"

Hakuba gritted his teeth. "No. He glued me inside the dress and dyed my skin-"

"And gave you glitter makeup."

"- yes, and gave me glitter makeup, as a precaution, I suppose, and then glued me to the ceiling of my room. Thankfully, my housekeeper was in and she helped me down."

**-AHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHA-**

"So you can't get the dress off?"

"No, the glue's too strong."

"The makeup?"

"It won't come off", Hakuba growled. He rubbed his face. The little flecks of glitter adorning his cheek bones, his eye lids, and his lips didn't budge.

Shinichi thought a moment. "Have you tried fruit juice?"

"I've tried that."

"Milk?"

"Uh huh. And now I smell sour."

Shinichi racked her brains. "Then... maybe alcohol?"

"Alcohol?" Hakuba stared at her.

"If I remember correctly, Hiromu got caught in a glitter trap a while ago, and alcohol was the one thing that got the glitter off. I think you've got to soak in it."

"I haven't tried that yet... thanks, Shinichi-chan."

"You're welcome. If I were you, I'd try different flavors of fruit juice on your hair. Sometimes, the flavor makes a difference."

Hakuba nodded thoughtfully. "Gotcha. Different flavors."

Shinichi went back to scanning the crowd. Hakuba did the same, and they spent the next few minutes pointing out potential KID suspects.

Finally, Hakuba looked at his watch and announced, "It's time."

They both waited for something to happen. It didn't.

"He's late", Hakuba snapped.

**Or maybe Kaitou KID isn't as neurotically exact as you**, Pandora snapped.

"Who said that?", Hakuba said, looking around.

In her head, Shinichi gave Pandora a questioning look. Pandora shrugged.

"I guess he's still getting things ready", Shinichi said, ignoring Hakuba's question.

"He said he would come at midnight", Hakuba said. "Which means he's la-"

_BANG_

Shinichi gaped at the pink cloud of smoke that had just enveloped Hakuba. Around them, people screamed and scrambled away. A few took pictures.

"... Hakuba?", Shinichi said, warily approaching the pink cloud.

**The display case,_ the display case!_**, Pandora said.

Shinichi gave the cloud one last look before hurrying over to the case. The taskforce were staring around fiercely. A new member had just joined and few days ago and now wore a look of abject terror. Shinichi gave him a reassuring smile and he relaxed somewhat.

"What the hell just happened?", Nakamori muttered to Shinichi. "Where's Hakuba?"

In answer, Shinichi pointed to the thinning cloud of pink smoke. Hakuba was nowhere to be seen.

"Inspector! Inspector!" A news crew hurried up, the reporter holding out a microphone. "Before this heist begins, is there anything you would like to say?"

_Here we go..._

**Oh God.**

"I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME, KAITOU KID!", Nakamori roared. "TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT! BWAHAHAHAHAAA!"

Shinichi rolled her eyes, her hands clamped over her ears. The news crew hadn't noticed her yet, and hopefully Nakamori's rant would occupy them until KID arrived.  
Two familiar figures in the crowd caught Shinichi's attention- Haibara and Agasa, the former looking as excited as it was possible for her to look, and the latter looking terminally nervous. The professor had never enjoyed heists.

Shinichi smiled at them, Haibara raising her eyebrows in greeting, Agasa responding with a bloodless rictus, and tuned back in to find Nakamori still ranting at the camera. The reporter was looking politely horrified. A member of the taskforce was waving energetically at the camera screen over Nakamori's shoulder.

"-AND WHEN I CATCH THAT DAMN THIEF, I'LL-"

"_Language_, Nakamori-keibu!", laughed a voice from behind them.

Shinichi span to see KID perching innocently on top of the display case, grinning down at them. Shinichi could see an abandoned uniform lying beside the case and came to an instant conclusion- evidently, KID had somehow avoided having his cheek yanked while in disguise, and used the distraction of Nakamori bellowing into the camera to make his move.

KID caught Shinichi's eye, and his grin widened. "Hi, Shin-chan! Why, fancy seeing you here!", he called in an unnecessarily loud voice. The reporter's head whipped around to stare at the hood that covered Shinichi's face, and the volume of the crowd went up.

Shinichi gave KID an unimpressed look. It wasn't as though she needed the hood anymore, but it lessened the chances of her being trampled by the news crews while waiting for KID to arrive.

The taskforce looked at Shinichi. She shrugged and made a go-ahead gesture.

The taskforce turned and threw a selection of bombs at KID, who raised his mantle to protect himself just before they hit. The thief disappeared behind a barrage of multicoloured smoke, glitter, and sequins. When it cleared, Shinichi saw that his mantle was ruined, but the suit he wore was intact. KID examined his mantle briefly, shrugged, and then whipped it out like snapping a cloth. As it snapped, all traces of colour vanished until it was as pure a white as it always was.

KID shook his head, grinning, and bent to take the jewel.

It was gone.

The was a creak from beneath him. The taskforce scrambled away, leaving KID in the centre of a rapidly widening circle. The carpet around the case split. Metal bars rose from the floor and closed around KID, encasing him and the display case he stood on.

KID looked down. He thought fast. The decorative cushion that had so recently held the jewel he was after was attached to a hinged panel. The taskforce had placed the jewel in the case to draw him to it, attacked him with bombs to distract him from the hinged panel dropping the jewel to safety, and trapped him in the cage.

That was... different.

"KID! I've got you now!", Nakamori celebrated.

Shinichi met Haibara's eyes and gave her an apologetic look. Looked like the chance of her using her new gadget that night was slim.

There was a metallic sound, and the detective turned to see KID tapping thoughtfully at the bars of his cage. He was completely ignoring the crowd, the news crew (which was attempting to fight its way through the taskforce to speak to him), and Nakamori's ecstatic gloating.  
Shinichi walked towards the cage and looked up at the thief. He noticed her and ceased tapping. He smiled.

"Meitantei-chan!", he said cheerily. "This was a fun idea!"

Shinichi blushed, and, grateful for the shadows her hood cast, said, "How are you planning on getting out of this one?"

KID shrugged. "I wasn't exactly prepared for this, but I'll find a way."

"You _must_ have some trick up your sleeve."

"Why, meitantei-chan!", KID gasped theatrically. "Anyone would think you _want_ me to escape!"

Shinichi gave a mysterious half-smile. "I have my reasons...", she said, walking away.

KID's eyes narrowed. "I'd better hurry up then", he murmured.

Nakamori had, by this time, calmed sufficiently enough to start ordering people away from the cage. He spoke to the taskforce, telling them to lift the cage and load it into the specially armored vehicle he had prepared. He was taking no chances.

"Ha!", he said happily. "We've got him now! This time, there's no chance for him to escape-"

The volume of the crowd increased as they all began to whistle and cheer. Nakamori spun around just in time to see the bars of the cage explode outwards.

KID stepped through the hole and threw out his arms to encompass the room. His mantle bulged for a moment, then billowed out as dozens of doves flew from it. The crowd screamed and cheered as the doves circled the room.

Shinichi caught sight of a tiny, smoldering object on the floor. It looked like one of KID's bombs.

So KID had real bombs? That was... frightening, to say the least.

Shinichi became aware of gazes on her. She looked up to see KID looking at her. She got the feeling she had just missed something.

"Sorry, what?", she said blankly. A dove landed on her shoulder and she petted it absent-mindedly.

KID grinned. "I said, meitantei-chan, what are you going to do now? Got another ingenious plan to trap me?"

Half the hall was looking at her. She mentally looked at Pandora, who wasn't any help.

"Uhhh...", she thought aloud. She couldn't use her new gadget now, there wasn't enough room. She looked at Nakamori, who was catatonic from the disappointment of realizing that he had not, in fact, finally captured KID. KID was still looking at her. The hall was more or less silent, all waiting for the mysterious detective's response.

Shinichi stifled a yawn and wondered if she could convince Pandora that now might be a good time to throw a taskforce at the thief. Her hands searched through her pocket and found something smooth.

"Oh!", she said excitedly, startling KID. "Oooh! I forgot I had this!" She peeped into her pocket and grinned.

KID raised an eyebrow. The detective was uncharacteristically excited, but, while he enjoyed seeing her unconsciously expressing so much unusual emotion, the reason for it probably didn't bode well for him.

Shinichi was laughing now as she spoke. "Hey, KID", she said, "Y'know ages ago, when you... lost your card gun?"

KID remembered the incident. "Yeah..."

Shinichi pulled the card gun from her pocket with a flourish. "Guess who found it? Lucky me!"

KID met her challenging eyes and brought out his own gun. The crowd scrambled away out of range.

"I don't suppose you could tell me where you_ found_ it?", he said, as they began to circle each other. The sarcasm in his voice was so thick it could have been cut from the air and sold as cheap building material. "It's just that, up until now, I had believed it to have been _lost_ in a safe location."

Shinichi grinned and shrugged. "I might tell you if you tell me where Hakuba-kun is."

KID waved this away with one gloved hand. "Don't worry, he's somewhere safe."

"Poor Hakuba-kun. You really should stop bullying him. He's getting paranoid."

"That English bastard is always paranoid", KID muttered.

Shinichi frowned. "Don't be mean."

"I'm not being mean!", KID protested, sounding hurt.

"Sure you are. Name calling and pranks? How old are you, five?", Shinichi taunted. "Act your age, not your shoe size."

Nakamori made a strange croaky sound. Shinichi realized that he was regaining control of his speech. Pretty soon, he would be yelling at the taskforce the charge, and all the fun would be over.

Shinichi sighed. She'd been waiting for the right moment, but what was the right moment to shoot someone with a card gun?

She sighted down the barrel and fired.

* * *

A sort of cliffy. Meh.

I was going to make this chapter a lot longer, but then I remembered that I will be spending this weekend somewhere with no internet connection, so I figured I might as well just upload this now ^.^

Um... I usually reply to any messages or reviews I get, be they questions or not, but I have a total memory blank on whether I did so or not with the newest reviews I got. If you've got any questions, then just ask them again. I've read all of the reviews, I just can't remember if I've answered them ^.^'

Also, has anyone read the fanfiction My Immortal? It's a Harry Potter one. It's been labelled 'the worst fanfiction in the world' and 'the fanfiction that single-handedly brought the internet to its knees'.  
If you haven't, you should. It's hilarious. It's probably old news, but if you haven't heard of it, you should go check it out. I'm not sure if it's still on here or not, though.

Anyways. Yeah.

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter of Moonlight Magician!

Hopefully, I'll be able to update soon :D


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

KID jerked sideways as the card gun went off, which was exactly what Shinichi knew he was going to do. The card pinned his mantle to the floor, effectively stopping him in his tracks. Shinichi fired off a few more rounds, skewering the other edge of his mantle and the bottom of his left trouser leg to the floor. Shinichi felt that it was a pity that KID wasn't near a wall or anything, because then she would be able to immobilize KID's whole body, pinning him against the wall as effectively as his glue often did to the taskforce.

KID raised his arm and fired at her, forcing her to lower her gun and jerk out of the way. The crowd around them was rapidly backing up, recognizing the danger of those razor-sharp cards. KID ripped his way free of them, grimacing at the torn state of his mantle. He didn't think he would be able to fly that night, which was a change of plan he hadn't foreseen.

KID fired another shot at Shinichi, and then another and another as they all missed. They fell into a sort of complicated dance of ducking and weaving around each other, occasionally getting pinned to the floor or wall by flying cards. The taskforce hung back, too afraid to enter that deadly card cloud even with their target so near. Ran, who had attended the heist with Sonoko, caught Takamoto's eye, an astonished look on her face. Who knew Shinichi could move like that?

Ran pushed her way forwards until she reached her boyfriend, who was working to keep the more reckless people in the crowd at bay.

"Do you think Shinichi-chan will be alright?", she asked anxiously. "Shouldn't you guys try to stop them?"

"Shinichi-chan does this all the time", Takamoto said reassuringly, throwing out an arm and catching Sonoko in the stomach as she tried to slip past him. "Whoops, sorry." He turned back to Ran. "Like I said, she'll be okay. She's the only one who seems to be able to keep up with KID- trying to interfere will probably end up in disaster."

Ran nodded uncertainly, still not entirely convinced.

Shinichi was gasping now as she tried to avoid KID's attacks. She was being alternately helped and hindered by Pandora, who kept poking KID in the back of the head to distract him, and giving Shinichi multiple near heart attacks as cards flew through its torso.

KID was panting too, she could see. Both of them had been going for a while without a break, neither of them willing to stop for the upper hand it would give their opponent. KID gave Shinichi a mocking smile, which she returned in full.

The pain in her legs was excruciating. God, this was like doing zumba, a stupid dancing exercise Sonoko had once dragged her and Ran to.

_Pandora_, she thought wearily, _I think now would be a good time to throw a_ _taskforce._

**Right!**, Pandora said cheerfully. It grabbed the leg of someone behind it and swung.

The crowd's attention was focused solely on KID and Shinichi, and so didn't notice the newest member of the taskforce levitate a few centimetres off the ground before zooming forwards. They did notice, however, when he flew across the floor to crash into KID's legs, knocking them out from underneath him and winding him. The thief lay motionless on top of the taskforce, wheezing as he struggled to get his breath back.

**Strrrike!**, Pandora celebrated. It hugged Shinichi and then wiped the sweat off of the detective's forehead. **Did I do good, Shinichi?**

_You did great._

Having more or less regained her breath, Shinichi advanced on the heap and pulled the taskforce out from underneath KID. He still looked terrified, but now with a sort of dazed look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?", she asked. It didn't look like he had any broken bones...

"M'kay", he mumbled. Shinichi let go of him, and he stumbled towards the taskforce, several of which made him sit and checked him over for injuries.

Shinichi turned and looked down at KID. She could see one violet eye gazing up at her as he struggled to recover his breath. The taskforce had hit him pretty hard. It didn't look like he was going anywhere.

Shinichi reached inside her pocket and brought out a pair of handcuffs. She crouched down beside KID, her back to the crowd and news crew, and smiled. _Hi_, she mouthed.

KID grunted in response. Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on", she sighed. "You can do better than that."

A funny wheezing sound escaped his lips. Shinichi lowered her head to listen.

"You gonna... handcuff me?", he gasped. Shinichi got the impression he was trying to speak suggestively, but the lack of air in his lungs made it ineffective.

The corners of her mouth quirked up. "Maaaybe. If you don't hurry up and move. I want to have more fun before the night's over."

"_Why_ are you so eager for me to escape?", said KID, his breath coming more easily now.

Shinichi looked away to hide her massive grin, and spotted Nakamori approaching. "Never mind", she said gloomily. "Nakamori's coming. I guess I'll have to handcuff you now."

KID's eyes narrowed. He was pretty sure he could move. He shifted experimentally and decided that, yes, he had recovered. He felt Shinichi take his arms and force them behind his back and-

Nakamori staggered away as, for the second time that hour, a pink cloud exploded into the room. It covered Shinichi and KID, and there was the sound of a scuffle emitting from the centre.

A rope shot from the cloud and embedded itself in the ceiling. KID swung out of the pink gas and over the crowd, dropping down near a pair of doors and running through them.  
Shinichi sprinted from the gas, a pair of handcuffs hanging from one wrist, and a hairgrip clutched in her other hand. She vaulted over the barrier separating the crowd from the taskforce and yelled at Nakamori to follow her, before following KID through the doors. The taskforce hurriedly ran after them.

Shinichi ran through multiple passages before deciding that KID had left before she could catch up. She stopped and turned to leave, and then froze as she glimpsed a figure leaning against a wall at the end of the corridor.

KID grinned and doffed his hat to her, before turning and running.

Shinichi looked left and right, confirming that no one was near. She could hear the taskforce in the distance, but knew they wouldn't be there for another few minutes. It was safe to use her new gadget.

She bent and fiddled with her shoes. They were nice shoes- comfortable and practical, plus they went well with many of her garments. Agasa had altered them so that they could increase the force at which she could kick things, much like the shoes she had owned as Christie. Not that she needed it, but it was nice to have them.

And now Agasa had added one more special feature.

A small green light blinked on at the heel of each shoe, informing Shinichi that the gadget was now operational. She glanced down at them anxiously as she straightened up. She had tried them out with Haibara at her house, but she wouldn't put it past them to malfunction now...

She lifted one foot and took a look at the sole. A strip of it had been replaced by two small wheels. The same with the other shoe.

Shinichi looked at Pandora. "What if I go too fast and crash through a window?"

**KID will catch you with his flying cape thingie, and you two will kiss and live happily ever after**, Pandora said, with its usual manic optimism.

"... Thanks, Pandora."

Shinichi lifted her foot and slid along the floor as though she were skating on ice. The second step had more force, and the third propelled her along the corridor as though shot from a cannon. Pandora followed effortlessly, laughing at the speed at which they were going. Shinichi's surroundings were a blur as she worked to catch up with KID, her shoes speeding her steps up until she was going far faster than she would ever be able to run.  
She turned a corner and skidded to a stop as she saw KID waiting for her at the end. He grinned mockingly.

Shinichi took a step forwards, her hands going to her pocket to grab a bomb, and stepped on a wire.

KID blinked as she tripped the trap. Silver glitter exploded over her, covering her from head to toe. He hadn't really seen that, had he? Shinichi, tripping a trap. That trap had been meant for the taskforce- the possibility of her tripping it hadn't even crossed his mind.

Shinichi looked down at herself and sighed. "Well, that was embarrassing", she said.

Pandora went to touch her, then pulled back. For the first time, it was at a total loss for what to say. Finally, it opted for, **Shinichi? Are you... okay?**

_Nothing's hurt. Apart from my dignity._

Shinichi brushed some glitter from her face, then flicked at her hair. She sneezed, and a small puff of silver burst in front of her face. She looked up, wondering why KID was taking so long to tease her, to find the thief gazing at her, his mouth open in an expression of complete and utter disbelief.

"What?", she snapped. "I'm human too, you know. It's not so odd for me to trip a trap."

KID nodded slowly, his mouth still open.

Shinichi rolled her eyes and brought out the bomb from her pocket. "Close your mouth, KID, you look like turtle."

KID closed his mouth and then started to laugh. Shinichi rolled the bomb in her hand and gritted her teeth, waiting for him to stop. He bent over at the waist and braced himself against his knees as he cried with laughter. The taskforce finally caught up with them and skidded to a halt at the end of the passage, staring at the glitter-covered detective and the thief that was in hysterics.

KID finally managed to calm down, gasping for breath. He straightened up, wiping at his visible eye with the back of one gloved hand.

"Meitantei-chan...", he giggled, "... I really don't know what to say."

"Really?", Shinichi said mock-cheerfully. "Lets keep it that way."

"You just-"

"No."

"It was-"

"Shut up."

KID laughed quietly. "I can't believe you actually set off-"

Shinichi threw the bomb.

KID span out of the way and threw one of his own. The taskforce scattered from the sudden eruption of glitter, feathers and sequins. It cleared after a few moments to reveal KID trying to unstick his mantle from the wall, gold glitter cascading down his top hat, and Shinichi batting feathers from her partially blue hair.

**Never mind your hair, look, KID is stuck, just go, go**, Pandora urged.

Shinichi took its advice and used her shoes to cross the corridor in under a second. KID ripped his mantle from the wall and cursed. He'd never be able to fly now. Shinichi reached out to grab his arm, and he batted her arm away. She took another step forwards and hooked her ankle around his, yanking at it as she moved back and bringing him down onto one knee.

KID looked up and grinned. "You can fight", he stated.

"I can fight", Shinichi confirmed.

KID stood and Shinichi moved back warily. He held out his hand to her. "Shall we?"

Pandora glanced sideways at Shinichi and grinned.

Shinichi kicked out, aiming for his knee, but KID moved back before her foot could connect. He yanked on her arm and used the same moved on her, nudging her legs out from underneath her. Shinichi gritted her teeth and reached out to hold his shoulders, flipping him over her. He rolled as he reached the floor, regained his footing, then ducked under the detective's fist. Shinichi swayed away, her arms held up to defend herself.

"You're good", said KID, sounding surprised.

"You're not too bad yourself. I didn't think fighting was your thing."

"It isn't", KID admitted. "But I thought it might be a useful thing to learn. You?"

Shinichi shrugged. "My parents saw fit to give me self-defence lessons."

"KID!"

They turned. Nakamori had finally caught up with them. "YOU ARE SURROUNDED!"

"Ooh, how nice to see you, Nakamori-keibu!", KID called. "Finally caught up, huh? Your old age getting to you?"

Nakamori turned beetroot, but his triumphant expression didn't waver. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!", he roared, speaking as though he and the thief were conversing on opposite ends of a football pitch. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE, KID!"

"We have you now!", Shinichi muttered. "Ahahaha."

"WE HAVE YOU NOW! AHAHAHA!"

KID smirked, a hair's breadth from losing his poker face. Now really wasn't the time to go into hysterics again.

"You sure about that, Nakamori-keibu?", KID asked tauntingly. His smirk grew, and Nakamori took an unconscious step back. No matter what distance you were from KID, that smile always made you want to increase it.

Nakamori shook himself and pointed to KID. "CHARGE!", he bellowed.

He and the taskforce ran the length of the corridor. KID glanced sideways to see Shinichi with her face in her palm, shaking her head.

"It's not going to _work_", she moaned. "And now I'm going to get trampled."

KID looked up and grinned. He grabbed Shinichi around her waist, startling her, and used his grappling hook to propel them to the ceiling. The taskforce stumbled through the space they had both been standing, tripping over each other and disappearing into the fray. KID landed a safe distance away and put Shinichi down.

**You're bluuushing**, Pandora sang.

_Will you just be quiet!_

Shinichi looked at the scrum with a sort of detached curiosity. "Do you think they actually think that charging will work, or is it just an instinctual thing?"

"It _never _works", KID announced. "So it must be instinctual."

They both watched for a few minutes more. The taskforce didn't seem to have noticed that neither of them were there, instead choosing to fight each other.

"Shouldn't you be going to the roof now?", Shinichi asked. "Your fans will be waiting to see you glide away."

KID shrugged. "I can't. My mantle is ruined."

"Oh."

"No, I think what I'll do is go back to the hall, take the jewel, wave it around for everyone to see, and then miraculously disappear in a puff of smoke and glitter."

Shinichi nodded. "Sonoko will like that."

"The brown haired girl? The rich one?"

"Yeah. She loves you."

"Really?"

"But she loves her boyfriend more."

KID looked relieved. "Is that so?"

"Yes." Shinichi had sunk into gloom.

**You're depressing yourself.**

_I know._

**Why?**

_I don't know. I guess 'cause the heist is over. Or maybe I'm crashing after the excitement._

Shinichi thought of her bed. Her lovely warm bed. If she left now, she could maybe get in two hours sleep before Sonoko came knocking at her door with the demand of knowing what she and KID had got up to after they left the hall. Sonoko had pulled so many all-nighters to see KID's heists through that they no longer seemed to affect her anymore.

_Bed_, Shinichi thought longingly.

**Food**, Pandora thought hopefully.

_You're obsessed._

Shnichi turned on her heel and began to walk down the passage back to the hall, using her shoes to occasionally glide. KID followed her.

"Shouldn't you be trying to stop me?", he asked.

"It's pretty early. Dawn's breaking."

"Yes, but even so", KID pouted.

Shinichi shook her head. "I'm too tired. I didn't get much sleep last night-" She broke off and frowned, trying to remember the previous evening. "Actually, I didn't get any sleep last night. I was reading. How did I manage that?"

"You stayed up all night because you were _reading?_ You do know that a lack of sleep can kill you, right?"

Shinichi shrugged. "I do it a lot, actually. I just don't notice the time going past."

"But a _whole_ night?"

"Actually, I don't think I slept the night before that either. What was I- oh yeah. I solved a murder over the phone." Shinichi frowned into the middle distance. "I've got to stop doing that."

"Meitantei-chan! Do I have to break into your house every night and gas you to ensure you get to sleep?"

Shinichi shook her head, taking his question seriously. "No need. I'll just knock myself out with some drugs or something." She caught his expression. "_Prescription_ drugs."

"Can't you go to sleep normally?"

"Not very easily. Too many... thoughts. I've heard the average human can fall asleep in just under seven minutes, but it always takes me several hours to do so."

KID looked at Shinichi in concern. She took a step and glided across the floor, a look of mild, uncharacteristic glee on her face.

"I like your new gadget. I guess that was the reason you wanted me to escape."

"I wanted to try it out", Shinichi said, gliding again. "Properly, I mean." She stifled a yawn and paused as they came to the double doors that led back into the hall.

KID looked at Shinichi, seeing the circles under her eyes and the tired droop in her shoulders. "You want me to take you home?", he blurted.

Shinichi gave him a weird look. "It's strange to see you like that."

"Like what-"

_Looking so serious._

"Poker face."

"Like what?"

"I think I can make my own way home, KID", Shinichi said, her voice dry. She ignored his question.

"You don't look like you can make your own way down the _street."_

"Aw, Kaitou KID, you flatterer, you."

"Meitantei-chan, I'm taking you home after this", KID said firmly.

"I'll get my friends to take me. They're in the audience."

"But-"

"And Takamoto-kun.

KID stared hard at Shinichi. She stared hard back. KID sighed and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay."

KID vanished in a puff of smoke and Shinichi heard the crowd scream as he reappeared inside the hall. She looked down at her feet.

Pandora appeared beside her, its hands on its hips. **Why didn't you accept his invitation to take you home?**

Shinichi shrugged. "I don't know. I guess because there wasn't much point to it."

**What?**

"Pandora... What if KID doesn't like me?"

**What?!**

"I don't mean what if he dislikes me. I mean, what if he doesn't _like me_ like me."

**He acts like he does...**

"But this is Kaitou KID we're talking about. We just sort of assumed that, because of the way he acts, he likes me. But that's the way he acts towards everyone. He's got a naturally flirty character. So, what if I'm sort of imagining more than there is?"

Pandora was quiet for a moment. **Then we might as well just enjoy it. If he doesn't like you, it can't be helped. We might as well just enjoy him and his heists without getting our hopes up.**

"Yeah."

Shinichi took a deep breath and raised her hood to cover her face. She entered the hall.

* * *

Sonoko tapped her foot, irritated. "When is that stupid geek gonna wake up?"

Ran smiled weakly and went back to her book.

Shinichi had appeared in the crowd beside them earlier at the heist with her hood pulled up. She had watched KID steal the jewel and disappear just in time for a very battered taskforce to arrive and see what he had done. Then, they had all gone back to Shinichi's house.

Sonoko had insisted on staying, with the intention of beating information about KID out of Shinichi, but Shinichi had just given her a very dirty look and locked herself in her bedroom to sleep. Now they were waiting in the library, Ran passing the time by reading, Takamoto (who had a black eye) passing the time by sleeping, and Sonoko passing the time by pacing and complaining very loudly.

Ran raised the book to her face and let peace wash over her. She had many happy childhood memories in the Kudo mansion, and she and Shinichi had spent many a rainy day lazing around in the vast library, leafing through books. She liked it there. She allowed herself to relax.

* * *

Hakuba opened his eyes groggily. Where was he?

He blinked once, twice, before being able to focus. He was... at school? Why was he at school? And why was the floor such a long way down?

Hakuba's eyes widened as he realized he was suspended by a rope above the classroom floor. He looked down and cringed. He was in the weirdest costume yet: A pink tank top covered in hot pink sequins. A huge, baby pink tutu that stood out in stiff ruffles. Pink tights. Hot pink strap-on shoes. There was a pair of sparkly wings strapped to his back.

Something yellow fell over his face, and he shook his head to dislodge it. A long blonde wig.

_KID. When I get my hands on that damn thief, I'll-_

Hakuba shook his head. For now, he should focus on getting free. _Then_ he could make mental death threats.

Hakuba struggled, grunting with exertion, but the ropes didn't budge. His face felt stiff, unnatural. KID had probably put makeup on him, a lot by the feel of things. Hakuba tried to open his mouth to yell for help, only to realize he couldn't even part his lips. He squinted down, crossing his eyes in an effort to see, and deduced that the sparkly pink he could see on the edge of his vision was lipstick that had somehow glued his lips together.

There was a clock on the wall of the classroom, and Hakuba stared at it. Five minutes until the start of school. He could hear sounds of life outside the window of the classroom, and threw himself into a frenzy of struggling to break free.

There was laughter to his left. Hakuba's head snapped around to see Kaito peeping around the door frame, giggling.

"MPH!", he yelled angrily, increasing his struggles.

"Oh dear, Hakuba-kun!", Kaito said in mock concern. "However did you get up there?"

"MPH! MMMPH!"

"I should go and get the teacher", Kaito said robotically. He turned and walked with deliberate slowness down the corridor as the bell the rang. "Such a long, long corridor!", he called. "I wonder if I will make it in time?"

Hakuba hung his head and went limp as the sound of hundreds of footsteps and loud chatter reached his ears.

* * *

Shinichi stared at the picture that had been sent to her via text several hours earlier. It was from an unknown number.

One hand found its way up to cover her mouth. Pandora peeped over her shoulder and burst out laughing.

"Oh, _Hakuba_", she said in horror.

Pandora staggered away, fell to its knees, and began to choke. Shinichi gaped at the picture, then tried to ring the number.

_"Hello~"_, a voice sang.

"What the heck? What was that? Why did you do that to Hakuba-kun? Why would you _do_ that?"

_"And hello to you too, meitantei-chan!"_

"Answer me, KID!"

_"Which one? There were rather a lot of questions..."_

"Why did you- why- why would you- why did you do that?!"

_"I see you finally got my text then? I sent that yesterday."_

"I was asleep."

_"Asleep? Excellent! Without the help of drugs?"_

"Never mind that! Why did you do that to Hakuba-kun?"

_"You're acting like I killed him."_, KID said, laughing.

"Where is he? Is he okay?"

_"I didn't hurt him, you know. Not outwardly, in any case. But his ego is huge- I'm sure he will recover it, given time."_

"You're _evil."_

_"No I'm not!"_, KID protested, sounding hurt._ "I'm not evil at all. I was just... giving him a taste of his own medicine."_

"When has he _ever_ hung you from a ceiling in a fairy costume?"

_"I glued his lips together too."_

"Glued-"

_"So he couldn't call for help."_

"..."

_"Meitantei-chan? Hello?"_ When she didn't reply, he added, _"Shinichi? Shin-chan? Meitantei-Angel? Shi-ni-chi-chan?"_

"... You're scary."

_"What? I'm what? I'm scary?"_

"You're honest-to-goodness scary."

_"Meitantei-chan"_, KID wailed,_ "Don't say things like that! You're being mean to me."_

_"I'm_ being mean?"

_"Okay, okay, maybe I went too far. But they got him down in the end."_

"In the end? How long did it take?"

_"Uh... a few minutes or so."_

Silence on Shinichi's end.

_"Okay, about ten to twenty minutes."_

The silence lengthened, becoming somehow menacing.

_"Okay, okay, so it took maybe an hour. I must have... accidentally... put some glue the rope when I tied it. But, hey, he's okay now- no need to worry!"_

"..."

_"At least some good has come of this"_, KID said, eager to break the silence.

"Oh?"

_"Yeah! I now have your mobile number."_

Shinichi abruptly disconnected.

* * *

Hattori Heiji knocked on the door, and pulled his hand away quickly as it opened immediately. Shinichi stared at him for a moment or two, then reached forwards and pinched his cheek painfully.

"Kaitou KID gettin' ta ya?", Hattori grunted.

Shinichi let go and nodded. "Yeah, he is. Come in."

Hattori entered the Kudo mansion.

"Sorry about that", Shinichi said, leading them both to the kitchen. "It's just that you appeared so suddenly without warning... and there's no way I'm going through the same thing as Hakuba-kun."

"Did ya see tha newspaper?"

"No. Why?"

"It's about him, an' tha thief's pranks. They got a picture and everythin'."

Shinichi frowned. "I wonder what he did to anger KID to this extent?"

Hattori shrugged. "Search me."

Shinichi poured herself a cup of coffee and offered one to Hattori, who declined. "So... why are you here?"

"I've been readin' abou' KID's heists, and I thought I might wanna try a few out. He seems to be doin' more an' more of 'em lately... But there was a murder at tha hotel I was gonna stay at."

"I assume you solved it?"

Hattori snorted. "Easily. But tha investigation uncovered some serious sanitary issues, an' it's been closed down."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow, a faintly amused look on her face. "You need a place to crash?"

"I... yeah. I was gonna come visit anyway, but then tha damn hotel..."

Shinichi drained her cup. "You can stay. We've got quite a few guest rooms, and most of them have their own bathrooms. At least this way you'll have a better chance at attending heists."

"Ah, that's right, you've got a job helpin' catch KID." Hattori grinned at her. "How's tha' goin' for ya then?"

"It... certainly makes life a little more interesting. And at least this way I don't have to look at bodies every single day."

"Ya like it then?"

"Certainly. I feel happier this way. Although I didn't have the problem of the paparazzi tailing my every step before."

"Oh yeah, I thought I saw some people around ya house. They looked all shifty."

"Any cameras?"

"I didn't see nothin', but I heard some clicky sounds when I was at ya front door."

"Yeah, that was them."

"How long they been there?"

"I don't know. I think they take it in shifts. They camp outside, sometimes."

"It gets really cold at night."

"Sometimes I go out and give them flasks of hot chocolate, or soup. I once lent one my tent when his got stolen."

Hattori laughed. "Why would ya do tha'?"

Shinichi shrugged, smiled. "Why not?"

* * *

Kaito smiled happily at Hakuba, who flinched and pressed himself back in his chair.

"What do you want to order, Hakuba-kun?", chirped Kaito. He was enjoying this.

Hakuba looked down at his menu and picked the first thing he saw there. As the others ordered, he stared at Kaito in frightened silence. Kaito looked up and gave him a manic grin, causing Hakuba to flinch again.

Hakuba jumped up. "I'll get everyone's food", he said, and walked speedily towards the queue at the back of the shop. A confused look on her face, Aoko stood to follow him.

"Kaito", she said, "Do you have any idea why Hakuba's acting so weirdly?"

"I don't know, Aoko-chan", Kaito said innnocently. "Maybe that thing with KID has shaken him up."

Looking concerned, Aoko joined Hakuba at the queue.

Kaito grinned. Akako shook her head. "You're evil."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!"

"Everyone?", Akako inquired, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"I sent a picture of Hakuba hanging from the ceiling to meitan- I mean, Shinichi-chan."

"And she called you evil?"

"Uh huh. And scary."

"That's a bit unfair-"

"Exactly!"

"- considering the one she should have been saying that to is Kaitou KID", Akako finished, smirking.

Kaito gave her a dirty look and turned away.

And grinned.

Shinichi led Hattori to her usual table, swiping a menu from another table as she went. They sat and looked through it together.

Kaito turned to point them out to Akako, to see that she had already noticed them. She was gazing at Shinichi with a deeply uncomfortable expression.

"That thing you're feeling", Kaito said to Akako, "It's not dangerous, you know."

"But it's unnatural", she said. She flicked a lock of silken hair over her shoulder. It caught the light perfectly as it cascaded down her back. Behind her, a man accidentally poured a spoon full of strawberry syrup down his front, gazing at the teen as though hypnotized.

"Can you see her?"

"Her?"

"The... presence."

"It's not a her, Kaito, it's an it. Don't let it fool you. And no, I can't see it. But it's definitely there."

"It definitely looks like a her", Kaito mumbled.

Akako looked at him sharply. "You've seen it before?"

"Unusual circumstances. It looks just like a creepy copy of Shinichi-chan."

Akako turned her attention back to Shinichi. "You got that right."

Kaito watched the two detectives at the next table converse for a few more minutes before Hattori got up to order. Shinichi looked out of the window absently.

She felt arms close around her shoulders. She turned to see Kaito leaning over his booth and grinning at her.

"Hey there, meitantei-chan~", Kaito breathed.

Shinichi went pink, then paled as remembered what he had done to Hakuba. Kaito watched her curiously, fascinated by her rapidly-changing facial expressions.

"H-hey, Kaito-kun", she squeaked, slowly sliding out of his grip.

"Where's Pandora today?", he asked, tightening his arms.

"Uh, in the jewel. Why?"

"Akako can't see her."

"It's an it, not a her", Akako called in a bored voice. "Let go of the poor girl, Kuroba-kun." To her surprise, Akako felt a little sympathetic towards Shinichi.

"No!", Kaito said childishly, tightening his grip. "Besides, Shin-chan doesn't mind it, right?"

"Don't call me that!"

"I ordered our food", Hattori said sliding back into his seat. "Listen, Kudo, there was some weird blond boy in tha queue, and he ran out once he ordered. A total weirdo, I tell ya."

"That would be Hakuba", Kaito said grinning.

Hattori looked at Kaito and frowned. He turned to ask Shinichi who he was, but changed his mind after he saw her staring fixedly out of the window, pretending she wasn't there. Hattori raised an eyebrow at Kaito, leaving him to make his own introduction.

"I'm Kaito Kuroba", Kaito said cheerfully, holding out a hand for Hattori to shake. Hattori shook it and introduced himself, glancing nervously at Shinichi. Surely it wasn't healthy to look that pale...

"You're from Osaka, right?", Kaito said. "Whatcha here for?"

Hattori opened his mouth to reply, then caught a warning look from Shinichi, complete with a minuscule head shake. Kaito looked up at her and her attention snapped back towards the window. Kaito frowned and slowly disentangled his arms. Shinichi visibly relaxed.

"He's here for, uh, detective work", she said.

"Detective work?"

"Yeah. A big case."

"A big case?", Kaito repeated, waiting for more information.

"Yeah", said Shinichi again. She looked away.

Hattori looked at Shinichi, bewildered.

Kaito's eyes narrowed. Looked like she was ignoring him.

There was a flurry of movement beside her, then a thud as Kaito plopped into the seat beside her.

"This is nice and cosy, isn't it!", he said cheerfully.

Hattori gazed at Kaito in irritated astonishment. He seemed to know Shinichi, who appeared to be doing her utmost to ignore him, which was totally out of character. What was _with_ this guy?

"Shinichi-chan! Hattori-kun!"

Ran and Sonoko were standing beside the table.

As Hattori engaged them in conversation and invited them to sit, Shinichi screamed inwardly. Here she was in a local café, with not one of her gadgets on her person. KID wouldn't try anything in a public place, right? But he _had_ hung Hakuba up at his school...

But his friends were here! That would keep him in check, surely?

Shinichi glanced back and realized the table behind her was empty.

"They had to go", Kaito said casually. "Hakuba had a freak-out or something."

"I'm not surprised", Shinichi muttered.

Kaito looked hard at Shinichi, who resumed staring out the window. He pouted. "Shin-chaaan", he wailed loudly, sliding closer. "Why won't you look at me?"

Shinichi forced herself to make eye-contact. "I am."

"Yeah, _now_ you are", Kaito scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Shin-chan, are you angry at me?"

"No, I- look, don't call me that. Only my mother calls me that."

"What, Shin-chan?", Kaito said innocently.

"Yes."

"But why can't I call you Shin-chan? It's a nice name", he teased.

"Just don't, okay?", Shinichi snapped.

"Yes yes, but, have I made you angry, Shin-chan?" Kaito looked up at her mournfully through huge, violet eyes.

Shinichi shifted uncomfortably. Her arm was pressed up against the window and she couldn't move back any further. Kaito was leaning so far forwards, he was practically in her lap. Pandora was giggling quietly, offering ridiculous suggestions of what to do.

_Shut up_, Shinichi hissed.

**But he's so close. Just think, if you lean forwards a few centimetres, you'd be within kissing distance**, Pandora giggled.

Shinichi ignored the jewel and tried to look calm and unruffled.

Kaito grinned at the attempt. "It's not working, you know."

"You're invading my personal space."

"Why do you look so worried? I'm not going to do anything... KID-like, if that's what you're worried about."

Shinichi looked at him skeptically. Although, if she were to be honest with herself, she had to admit that the possibility of him doing anything 'KID-like', as he put it, was pretty low. He was in the presence of two detectives, and in a public place. It would be stupid to try anything, especially without a disguise on.

_I'm just being silly_, Shinichi decided.

"Get off of me", she sighed, pushing him away. Kaito slid back a little, grinning.

"Aaw, Shin-chan", he said, "Was I making you uncomfortable?"

"Are you _always_ like this?", Shinichi demanded.

"Yup!", Kaito said happily. He turned in his seat and leaned against Shinichi's arm, grinning up at her. She rolled her eyes and looked out of the window.

Trust KID to have such a touchy-feely personality.

She didn't notice Hattori, Ran, and Sonoko watching them both.

"Looks like 'Shin-chan' has got an admirer", Sonoko muttered to Ran. "Hey, are you okay with this? I mean, she is your husband."

Ran looked at her in surprise. "Of course I'm okay with it!"

"Oh, I forgot. You've got Takamoto-kun now." Sonoko sighed. "Pity. I was looking forwards to a bit of Shinichi bashing."

"What?!", said Hattori, staring at them both. "Ran-san, I thought tha' you and Kudo were... ya know."

As Sonoko fell over herself to explain, substituting the truth for an overly exaggerated version, Hattori thought, _Ya got some explainin' ta do, Kudo._

* * *

Nakamori stared down at the heist note with an expression of pained constipation. KID, dressed up as the taskforce that had given him the note, shuffled back a few paces.

Nakamori, as always, struggled to decipher the note, screwing up his face in concentration. His face went beetroot from the effort. KID wondered if Aoko would blame him if her father died of a heart attack at that point. Probably, since it would have been his heist note that would have caused it.

"This makes no sense!", he roared finally, slamming a hand down onto the table. "Monkey? What is he talking about?! He's an idiot!"

_Pot calling the kettle black..._

"Sh-should I send for Angel, sir?", came the nervous reply.

"NO! I'll figure this out myself, damn it!"

KID sighed, his shoulders slumping. This was going to take a while. He hoped that his meitantei-chan would have time to organize a plan once Nakamori finally gave up.

* * *

Shinichi stared down at the heist note, her brow furrowed.

The heist note was fine. The heist note was easy. What was bothering her was the little message KID had added to the bottom in an elegant, curly script.

_My dear Meitantei-chan,_  
_I hereby give you permission to bring your monkey to my heist._  
_I trust he is toilet trained?_  
_Sincerely,_  
_Kaitou KID **  
***doodle*_

Shinichi was confused. Monkey? What monkey? Unless he meant...

Shinichi left her room and leaned over the banister. "Hattori", she called.

Hattori poked his head out the kitchen. "What?"

"You've got an invitation!"

"A what? I got a what?"

* * *

**Shiiiin-chaaan**, Pandora whined. **Why does this stupid monkey have to come here?**

_Will you quit calling him that?_

**No! KID was perfectly right, he _is_ a monkey! And don't act all insulted, you were laughing too!**

_Only a little bit... Why is it that you seem to hate everyone I know?_

**I don't! I like Ran... and your parents... and those weird kids you know... and I like KID too!**

_I sometimes get the impression that you hate everybody._

**Oh, I could never hate you, Shin-chan! Shin-chan's my friend, aren't you, Shin-chan? Yes you are, yes you are!**, Pandora crooned, in that special voice you use for fluffy animals and young children.

_... I swear, you get weirder every day._

**Hey!**

"When do ya think he's gonna arrive?", Hattori muttered to Shinichi.

"At midnight. It's almost always at midnight. Why do you keep asking me?"

"'Cos I wanna get him back! Tha last time I saw tha' thief, he threw slime at me an' got away", Hattori growled. "I'm gonna get him back for last time!"

Shinichi rolled her eyes and looked away.

The place they were in really was breathtaking. An art gallery that was part of a major money-making plan. A long drive led from ornate metal gates up to the magnificent building the heist was being held in. The walls were made of glass, so those inside could look out over the crystal blue lake that took up most of the grounds, the exquisitely manicured lawn and gardens, and the huge maze that stood taller than a man. They were all lit by spot lights, the better to catch KID while showing off the land.

There weren't any civilians at this heist- only the most rich had money enough to enter the place, and the room was crowded with glittering people who moved with quiet elegance. The men looked like smart penguins in their tailored suits, and the women resembled flashy peacocks, if peacocks can be said to practically drip with jewels and viciously swap gossip about others in the room. Their chatter made the volume in the room rise to a gentle hum.

A news crew had somehow got in, perhaps duping the idiotic, troll-like door men with long words and the reporter's glittery, tacky dress. She usually dressed so nicely, Shinichi was surprised at her sudden lapse in fashion sense.

The taskforce were all dressed in their usual attire, although Nakamori's suit was perhaps a little smarter. Shinichi would have admired him for dressing for the occasion, only she had heard the taskforce muttering about an overheard argument during which Aoko had attempted to beat her father into wearing the new suit. Evidently, she had won the row.

Shinichi turned her attention to KID's objective for that night- Elpis. A sculpture of a beautiful woman, clothed in a flowing robe, a cornucopia held aloft in both hands. The sculpture was small but beautiful, and the woman it depicted appeared to be dancing.

The sculpture itself wasn't what KID was after. It was the jewel incorporated into it. The cornucopia itself was the jewel, a huge, glowing topaz. It made the sculpture of Elpis seem luminous, dazzling, and it glowed under the bright lights of the room, reflected again and again in the glass walls.

Shinichi had laughed aloud when she realized what it was KID wanted. What he was obviously pointing out to her hadn't passed her by.

Elpis. She remembered her little nickname for the thief, the one that described exactly what he had become to her.

An object of hope.

* * *

I can't do Hattori's accent. I can't do Hattori's accent.

*Smashes face into key board*

Anyhoo.  
This is the longest chapter I have ever done for this story. You likey?

RoseAngel16 and Meow-chan, glad you liked it ^.^

Ramen seeker, I promise, I promise I will!

Guest on the 7/14/13- yeah, me too -.-

GirlOfAThousandDreams- I read the manga version, it's pretty funny, especially as they so obviously don't take the actual story seriously XD  
I'm glad you liked that chapter.  
What grammar mistakes?

Guest on the 7/15/13, Chapter 2- Glad you like it so far, although it will probably take you a while to see this reply ^.^

Guest also on the 7/15/13, Chapter 16- It took me a while to work out what you meant, but yeah, that fan is pretty funny. A real person, actually. Maybe I'll include him in the story again soon XD

I dunno, does anyone read my rambling author notes anymore? Whatever.

I might start the next chapter tomorrow, as I have no social life.

Thanks for reading ^.^ I hope you all enjoyed it!


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Takamoto scanned the room carefully, searching for anyone acting out of character. The last heist had given him a black eye, and he vowed to at least pick KID out before Nakamori sent them into another painful scuffle with the thief.

Two figures at the end of the room caught his eye. They were both standing apart from the crowd, conversing quietly. Normally, this would given Takamoto reason to stride over and pinch their cheeks into oblivion, but he didn't because he recognized them both, even if he couldn't remember the male's name. Shinichi, and the person Takamoto knew only as 'monkey', courtesy of KID.

'Monkey' was dressed in a suit that was smart and black- not the kind of black people wear not to make themselves look suave, but the type of black people dress in because they don't want the little marks to show, which was wise, given the event they were at.

Shinichi had surprised him with her outfit. Takamoto hadn't been sure whether she would stubbornly come in the usual shabby hoodie she always wore, or would wear a suit like 'monkey' for the mobility it would lend her, as opposed to a restricting dress.

Based on her previous outfit choices, she just didn't seem like the type of girl who wore dresses.

But this time, she had surprised him. She wore a long, black dress that went down to just above her knees. The sleeves were long and made of some kind of floaty, dark material. As expected, she was stubbornly wearing flat soled shoes.  
It was a pretty dress, and made her look smart without drawing too much attention to her, but Takamoto seriously doubted that she would be able to run while wearing it.

Right on cue, Shinichi caught his eye and lifted the skirt of the dress just high enough for Takamoto to see the shorts she was wearing underneath.

Takamoto turned away, trying to stifle a grin. That was sorted, then.

Shinichi watched Takamoto from the corner of her eye. He was scanning the room, looking for people who carried the possibility of being KID. She saw his eyes linger on hairlines, looking for places where any mask limits might be visible, the slip of a wig, someone who was not the height they were supposed to be, or was acting out of character. The urge to pinch a suspect's cheek was a habit she hadn't been able to force him to let go of, but at least he was taking her advice on how to spot KID on board.

She turned away and started to do her own scanning. There was a woman who lingered slightly too long at the display case of Elpis, but then went on to do that with all of the other pieces of art. A man was looking around in a suspicious, shifty way, but the reason for that was explained when he brought out a hip flask and took a huge swig before swiftly stowing it away again. Shinichi managed to swipe it from him, replace the alcohol with water, and returned it to him with his noticing. Having a drunkard in the room would only serve to make matters worse if KID were to show up.

Of course, all the scanning and checking out people could be futile- KID might be stowed away in an air vent, or had already spirited the jewel away and replaced it with a fake (although Shinichi doubted he would do that before the appointed time).  
Besides, Hattori was there too. KID had 'invited' him specially. Which probably meant he wanted someone to prank while Hakuba was recovering.

Speaking of Hattori, Shinichi hadn't seen him for a while. He had muttered something about going to the toilet, and Shinichi hadn't seen him since. Probably because the toilets were in a separate room outside- she wouldn't put it past Hattori to get lost-

Shinichi had been sipping from a glass of chilled water with a totally unnecessary slice of lemon while she had been thinking this. Her revelation almost caused her to spit it out over the woman in front of her, and it was only the good manners ingrained into her very soul that stopped her from doing so.

_HATTORI!_

KID couldn't get past the doormen by himself, seeing as everyone nearly everyone was important enough to have arrived escorted by bodyguards, but Hattori could. Hattori would be remembered by the doormen. Hattori had come in alone, and had left alone. The doormen wouldn't think twice about letting him in.

Shinichi stared at her watch. The heist wouldn't start for another ten minutes. If she left now, she might be able to catch KID in the act, and therefore unprepared.

She waved at a taskforce to get his attention. He came over.

"Will you come with me to the toilets? Not for me, but for Hattori. I think KID might have ambushed him."

The taskforce nodded. "I'll tell Nakamori where we're going", he said, taking out his radio. They both left and hurried to the toilets.

Now she thought about it, Shinichi couldn't remember his name._ Must be another new one_, she thought vaguely, remembering a comment Nakamori had made about more and more people signing up for the taskforce recently. She could hear the taskforce muttering into his radio behind her.

Shinichi reached the toilets and hesitated before knocking. "Hattori? Hattori, you okay?"

There was a muffled curse, the sound of a scuffle, and then, "I'm alright. Whatcha doin' here?"

Shinichi stared skeptically at the door. "I'm coming in."

"No, wait! I'm, uh, not done in here!"

"There are multiple cubicles", Shinichi told the closed door, rolling her eyes. "So it shouldn't be a problem if I come in, right?"

Another muffled curse. Shinichi turned to the taskforce, raising her eyebrows. He nodded. She took a step back and slammed her foot into the door. It didn't budge. She did it again, and was rewarded with a crack. One more kick propelled the door open.

Shinichi walked in, and took in the sight of Hattori lying unconscious on the floor, minus most of his clothes, and KID kneeling beside him, wearing the clothes that Hattori was missing. His shirt was hanging open, and Shinichi took in the sight of his bare chest, appearing outwardly expressionless. Pandora was having hysterics.

The taskforce behind her gave a yell and charged at KID, who grabbed him into a head lock and pressed a spot behind his ear. The taskforce went limp.  
KID dropped the taskforce and smiled at Shinichi-

-who was sprinting back towards the large house.

KID looked down at the prone Hattori and cursed. If that damn detective hadn't taken so long to subdue...

Never mind. He didn't really need him anyway- that was just to add flavor.

KID bundled Hattori into one of the cubicles and jammed the lock. Then, he stepped outside and walked, whistling, back to the glass house.

* * *

Nakamori and the taskforce were on high alert. Ever since Shinichi had skidded up to them, gasping about KID attempting to impersonate Hattori, the atmosphere in the room had changed from relaxed and slightly boring, to charged and expectant.

Shinichi was feeling lonely. Hattori could be fun sometimes (not that she would _ever_ admit that to him) and she had been looking forwards to them trying to catch KID together. Nakamori had sent a few members of the taskforce out to get him, but none of them returned. A bit like a horror film. Shinichi suddenly got an image of a creepy puppet proclaiming that it wanted to play a game.

Following the same train of thought, it occurred to Shinichi that KID would make a pretty successful serial killer.

With a click, the lights went out.

A spotlight came on, pointed at the display case of Elpis, which KID was now standing on.

_"Ladies and gent__lemen!"_, KID began, grinning. His voice echoed across the room.

Shinichi bit her lip. KID was on the other side of the room. She didn't know what annoyed her more- the fact that she wasn't likely to emerge victorious from this heist given the distance between them, or that she still didn't know how KID always made it to the damn display case without being seen _every single time!_

_"-and my lovely assistant, meitantei-chan, will help me!"_

Shinichi looked up. Wait, what?

KID was grinning in her direction. She shuffled a step back, her feet unsure of which direction to take, then grabbed at her stun watch.

But by then, it was too late.

A cloud of pink obscured her vision, and Shinichi took a disoriented step back before she felt an arm close around her waist. The pink cleared. The ground was quite a way down, from where she was standing. Which was on the display case. With KID.

Shinichi turned her head to look at the thief and smiled sweetly. "I will _decapitate_ you", she said.

KID resisted the urge to shiver- at such close range, the detective was bound to notice. Shinichi could be scary sometimes.

"If I were you, I'd be worried about people seeing up your skirt", he said quietly.

"I'm wearing shorts underneath."

"Oh."

Shinichi realized that KID looked mildly disappointed. "You _pervert."_

"I am not! I do wish you'd stop calling me names", he pouted.

"Pervert. Idiot. Stupid head. Uh... dumb ass."

"Stop it!"

**Fetus?**, Pandora suggested. **Oh, please call him that! I would love you forever.**

"You're such a fetus", Shinichi said. Her voice was caught on the microphone KID was wearing, and broadcasted across the room.

KID gave Shinichi a glare, which melted into a hurt, wide-eyed look. "Shin-chan, do you really think I'm a dumb ass?"

Shinichi blinked at him. "... Very often in the morning. When I haven't had my coffee."

"Ooh, you think about me often, then?"

"I've changed my mind. Decapitation's too good for you."

KID grinned and lowered his mouth to the microphone again. _"And without further ado..."_

There was pink again. KID's arm disappeared. Shinichi reached out and touched glass. Glass all around her.

The smoke cleared. Shinichi was in the display case. KID had hopped down and was holding the Elpis sculpture cradled in one arm. He gave Shinichi a mocking grin.

"What now, Shin-chan?"

"What if I were claustrophobic?" Her voice came out slightly muffled and echoey through the glass.

The grin became worried. "You're not, are you?"

Shinichi opened her mouth and began to lie, to say that yes, she was... and then saw the slightly frantic look on the thief's face. "Uh... no."

The frantic look morphed to relieved. "Damn it, meitantei-chan! You had me worried there!"

Nakamori pointed at KID. Shinichi placed her hands over her ears. "GET HIM!"

KID laughed and ran, jumping feet first through an open window. He was followed by the taskforce. The rest of the room's occupants rushed outside for a better look at the mayhem, leaving Shinichi alone.

The blonde detective sighed. They'd forgotten about her. She fanned herself in an attempt to calm down after being so near KID before, then frowned. It was pretty stuffy in there. Were there any air holes? Would it be possible for her to die from asphyxiation in the case?

Shinichi reached up to try to knock the lid off, and realized she couldn't reach it. She jumped a little, then tried to knock the case over, but it wouldn't budge.

Okay, she was panicking now. How was going to get out? It was getting increasingly stuffy. Trust Nakamori to totally forget about her once clapping eyes on KID.

**Calm down. Don't panic. You're using up too much air.**

_What should I do? I don't have anything that can help me._

**Humans can die from this, then?**

_Yes!_

**Ah. Uh oh.**

_Got any of your little gifts that can help me?_

**Uh... nope.**** Sorry.**

Shinichi put her hand over her eyes. Okay. Calm. Think.

There was a flash of white. She looked up to see KID standing in front of the case.

KID looked at the case. The sides were steamy from the condensation Shinichi's breathing caused. He perched on the display case next to Shinichi and levered off her case's lid. He saw her gasp in the air that spilled in.

"It's a good thing I came back", he muttered, helping her climb out. She sat down on the floor, breathing deeply.

"... Idiot... thief."

KID scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. I guess I should have checked for air holes, huh?"

Shinichi closed her eyes. "I thought I was going to die for a moment there."

"I wouldn't let my meitantei-chan die!", KID said indignantly.

_My meitantei-chan?_ Shinichi cracked open an eye to look at KID in surprise. The thief seemed unaware he'd said anything odd.

Shinichi got to her feet and stretched. "I suppose I'd better catch you", she said. "Now I'm free and all."

KID grinned. "I suppose so."

They looked at each other in silence for a moment. KID suddenly ducked away and sprinted out of the doors. Shinichi checked her expensive dress wasn't creased before following him.

* * *

Hattori opened his eyes and knew exactly what had happened.

That damn thief! At least he'd had the decency to give him his shirt back...

* * *

Shinichi skidded to a halt. KID had led her and the taskforce in a merry chase all through the gardens, destroying them in the process. She had paused in running after him about halfway through the chase when she realized that the sole purpose of it had been to tire them out. Thus, she had been the only person healthy enough to follow him up to the maze.

Where she had stopped.

The maze was dark, pitch black in fact. She could see KID about halfway down the entrance, watching her. His white clothes seemed to glow in the darkness.

Shinichi wasn't afraid of the dark. She wasn't afraid of mazes, or getting lost. But there was a deep animal instinct that told her that in no uncertain circumstances was she to enter that maze. KID had led her there on purpose. Goodness knew what he had set up.

Shinichi looked at KID, who was walking back down the path.

"Scared, meitantei-chan?", he said as he neared her.

"No."

"Aaw, come on, you can be honest with me." KID leant against a wall of the maze, his arms folded casually.

"I'm not afraid. I just don't trust you enough to enter a dark maze alone."

"You wouldn't be alone. I'm here."

Obviously KID wanted her to go in, which strengthened her resolve to not enter. "That's precisely why I'm not going in."

KID pouted. Detectives were too smart for their own good. Or, rather for his entertainment standards.

Shinichi drew her hands behind her back, looking around as though searching for the taskforce. She flicked the top of her tranquilizer watch up and activated it.

"Don't you want to have some fun?", KID was saying.

Shinichi looked at him. "Yes. But this dress was expensive. I'd rather not ruin it with gunk and glitter."

"Huh. You're obviously not as good a detective as you think, if you let a little dirt stop you", KID huffed, trying to goad her into entering the maze.

Shinichi rolled her eyes at the attempt. "Nice try, KID. But no." He was too far away for her to get a proper fix on him with the watch. She needed him to be closer.

Shinichi looked over KID's shoulder and stiffened. Her mouth dropped open, and she raised one hand to cover it, staring with horror into the darkness beyond. She went to take a step away, shuffling her feet as though scared into immobility.

KID span around, looking over his shoulder behind him, and Shinichi used the distraction to take the necessary four steps forwards to get within range. She raised her watch, fired.

KID heard the_ snick_ of Shinichi's watch firing, and raised his mantle. The needle pierced halfway through the fabric before stopping. He turned and ducked around the detective, throwing a feather bomb as he went. Shinichi stumbled away from it and tried to fire again, but was hindered by KID advancing on her, throwing bombs and making sudden lunging movements. The detective stumbled around a corner, KID leaping onto a maze wall to follow her from above. Shinichi jerked away to a safe distance, then realized that she could barely make out her surroundings. KID grinned from his perch on top of the maze wall.

She was inside the maze.

Shinichi frowned. KID was blocking her way out. She didn't have any bombs on her, and there was no way to fight back at the thief. She reached for her tranquilizer watch, and found that it was no longer on her wrist.

She looked up at the thief. "I trust you intend to give that back after tonight?"

"Of course", KID said sounding surprised.

"Don't sound so surprised. You're a thief, remember?"

KID shrugged, fiddling with the watch in his hands. "I only steal jewels. Unlike _someone."_ He stared hard at her.

Shinichi looked at him blankly. "Pardon me?"

"My card gun?"

"Oh yeah. I was going to give it back."

"But...?"

"But it wouldn't fit into my purse. And then I decided that I hated the purse and left it at home anyway."

"Well-"

"THERE HE IS!", came Nakamori's voice from the other side of the maze wall. "AFTER HIM, INTO THE MAZE!"

KID smirked and peered over the edge of the wall, down at the taskforce. "Nice of you to finally join us", he called.

"Us?!"

"Meitantei-chan's already here. You guys are pretty slow."

"Ya damn thief!"

"Ah." KID turned to Shinichi. "Your monkey's awake."

Shinichi looked at the wall as though she could see through it. She bit her lip, weighing the option of getting trampled by the taskforce against going deeper into the maze. Then, she turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?", KID said, following the detective along the wall.

"To find another way out", Shinichi replied. She was disappointed. This heist hadn't been very fun after all, although a conversation with KID was always seen as a bonus.

"Don't you want this?" KID produced the statue of Elpis. He grinned at her challengingly.

Shinichi stopped and turned. "I thought you'd hidden that somewhere."

"I still have it on me, as you can see." KID jumped down.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed. KID held up the statue tantalizingly.

"What's the matter, meitantei-chan?", he said innocently. "Don't you want this back?"

"You'll just return it anyway", Shinichi said weakly.

"Oh, but I've taken a liking to it, being called Elpis and all. It would make a nice ornament in my home..."

Shinichi tried to think of a way to get at the sculpture that didn't involve her gadgets. Or looking like a small kid trying to get at something held by a taller kid. The mental images supplied by her brain were ridiculously pathetic.

The dilemma was solved pretty quickly- the answer having come in the form of a glue bomb lobbed by Hattori over the wall.

KID looked down at the mess gluing his legs to the floor and cursed. He tried to lift his foot and failed. Looked like Shinichi's monkey was good for something after all.

Shinichi was clawing at the mess gluing her own legs to the ground. She, unlike KID, had both hands free, and was using her nails to tear away strips at a time. She managed to lever her feet out, and looked at KID smugly.

**We are the superior ones!**, Pandora said, in what it considered to be a superior tone of voice.

"You are so odd", Shinichi said, advancing on the thief.

"Am I?"

"No, not you. Although you are pretty odd, now I think about it. I was talking to Pandora."

Shinichi stopped in front of the thief and smiled. It felt nice to have the upper hand, for the first time that evening. Although KID still had a hand free, so it would pay not to be too lax.

Shinichi took the statue from KID and checked it over for any damage. She looked at the thief.

"What to do?", she wondered.

"Who says you have to do anything?", KID said, widening his visible eye innocently.

Shinichi arched an eyebrow. "If_ I_ were stuck to the ground with glue, would you pass me by without doing anything?"

"Well..."

"Thought so." Shinichi circled the thief, paying attention to his hands. She knew he needed his hands to perform any escape acts. "I hate smart dress codes", she muttered.

KID's torso twisted so he could look at her. "How so?"

"Because if the dress code hadn't been smart, I would have had a way to bring a marker, and would be drawing on your face with it right now", she sighed. "As it is, I guess I'll just have to make do with this." She produced a pair of handcuffs and bound KID's arms behind him. "I'll leave you for the taskforce to find, and save any good prank ideas for another day."

KID felt confused, although he tried not to show it. Hiding his puzzlement behind his poker face, KID said, "You're not gonna arrest me, meitantei-chan?"

Shinichi paused in the act of walking away. "No. Not tonight."

Now KID couldn't hide his confusion. "Why? Don't you want me arrested?"

Shinichi turned and gave him an odd look compounded of amusement, mocking pity, and... something else. "Kaitou KID... don't forget that I know your true identity. If I wanted you arrested, don't you think I would have turned you in by now?"

She turned and walked away.

KID stared after her. He got to work on unlocking the handcuffs.

Shinichi was a pretty strange detective. He'd never encountered this before- a detective that attended every one of his heists, smart enough to outmaneuver him, smart enough to catch him... and walked away when he was caught.

Shinichi was pretty strange... but that was what made her so fun.

* * *

Shinichi looked up as Hattori walked up to her and choked back a laugh. He looked at her sourly.

Shinichi had found her way out of the maze fairly quickly after following KID's lead and scaling a wall. From there, she could avoid the traps KID had set up, and hopped from wall to wall until she reached the edge. She had then waited in the shadows of the glass exhibit hall, listening to the yells and squeals of the taskforce chasing KID through the maze and getting caught in his traps.

"Nice dress", Shinichi said.

"Thanks", Hattori hissed sarcastically.

It _was_ a nice dress. A floor-length gown covered in gold glitter. Hattori tugged at the dark wig KID had glued to head irritably as he stumbled towards Shinichi in gold heels. Looked like KID had decided to go for the 'natural' look with Hattori, judging by his makeup.

"I like your lipstick", Shinichi said.

"Shut. Up. Kudo."

"No, really. It's a nice shade."

Hattori finally managed to tear the wig off and threw it to the ground. "Does this always happen?"

"Uh, yeah. Pretty much. The trick is not to let him catch you."

"Has it ever happened ta ya?"

"Yeah..." At Hattori's questioning look, she looked away and mumbled, "Maid outfit."

There was a second of nonplussed silence before he began to laugh. Shinichi gave him a glare and kicked him in the shin.

"Ow!"

"Shut up. It's not as if you have anything to laugh about, _monkey."_

Hattori glared at her. Shinichi gave him a smirk before she turned to give the Elpis statue to a very feathery and bedraggled Nakamori, who expressed his delight in that night's triumph by screaming to the sky, "KID! I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, JUST YOU WATCH! AHAHAHAHAAA!"

Shinchi turned to Hattori, who was tearing at the heels on his feet. "Let's go", she muttered.

She watched a taskforce with vibrant violet eyes and unruly dark hair peel away from them and creep away into the darkness, but she didn't say anything.  
When she got home, the first thing she saw was her stun watch lying on the kitchen counter.

* * *

Kaito tried to ignore the glare that was on him. He stared resolutely out of the window, refusing to meet the gaze that was burning through him. It seemed that Hakuba had finally recovered from Kaito's prank, much to his dismay. The thief knew that it would have had to happen eventually, but it didn't stop the disappointment.

Kaito could see his reflection in the window. He could also see the evils Hakuba was giving him. To distract himself from the British detective, Kaito brought out his notebook and began to outline heist plans in it. The next heist was giving him trouble. He got the feeling that his last few demonstrations of magic had been rather flat- the fans seemed to like it, but he didn't. And he remembered meitantei-chan walking away at his last two heists... what was all that about? She wouldn't have done it as Christie, that was for sure. He needed something flashy, something loud, something... breathtaking.

Kaito sighed and snapped the notebook closed as the bell rang. He needed inspiration.

Hakuba stood and went to stride up to Kaito, then stopped as the thief pulled open the window and jumped out.

"BAKAITO!", Aoko shrieked in horror. "We're on the second floor!"

* * *

Shinichi grimaced as Nakamori shouted. Not at her- he didn't have the nerve to, not after he watched her kick a trash can hard enough to knock out a member of the taskforce that had attempted to grope her. No, Nakamori was yelling at Hattori. Apparently, it was Hattori's fault for getting caught by KID. And it was all his fault they had got lost in the maze because of the voices he had followed (Shinichi suspected that it had been her and KID's conversation that Hattori had heard). And it was his fault that, even after finding KID handcuffed and glued to the ground, he had still managed to escape. And it was all Hattori's fault that Nakamori had walked of his own violation into a feather trap after escaping from a similar glue trap.

Nakamori continued to yell, drowning out Hattori's protests and angry insults. Shinichi looked sideways at Hakuba, who was watching with undisguised amusement.

"How long have they been going for?", she asked, knowing she could count on the British detective for an accurate answer.

"Eighteen minutes, twelve seconds, and fifty-four milliseconds." Hakuba replied. He hadn't even looked at his watch.

Shinichi nodded and looked back to the fight. Hattori was trying to yell over Nakamori, and she could hear his voice begin to go. She thought about wading into the fight to attempt to calm things down, then decided that she didn't want an even bigger headache than she already had.

She turned to Hakuba. "Do you want to go get lunch?"

Hakuba looked mildly surprised. "Sure."

Shinichi caught Takamoto's eye, but he shook his head. Nakamori would want to speak (read: yell) to them once he was done with Hattori. Shinichi gave him a sympathetic look as she left.

They found a quiet place to eat, a small and pleasant café, and ordered their food and drinks. Hakuba had his doubts on the meal not being awkward, but it seemed that Shinichi had foreseen the outcome far clearer than he had- being Sherlock Holmes fans, and sharing a similar taste in literature, they had plenty to talk about, and the meal went by pretty quickly.

It ended with Hakuba asking casually, "So, what do you think of Kuroba-kun? Have you met him since I shared my... suspicions?"

Shinichi thought of the day in the café during which Hakuba had a breakdown and ran out, and Kaito had made her uncomfortable by sitting too close.

"Yes, I have."

"And...?" Hakuba pushed the remnants of his meal around his plate nonchalantly. He was trying to appear relaxed and casual, but Shinichi saw the hidden urgency of his question.

Poor Hakuba. He had the right person, yet no one believed him. It hurt Shinichi that she would have to lie to the detective.

"I can see why you believe he's KID...", she began.

"There's a 'but' coming up, right?", Hakuba sighed, sitting back in his chair.

Shinichi looked at him sympathetically. "Sorry."

"Tell me why you don't believe it's him", Hakuba prompted.

"Well... it's just that I can see why you'd think that. He's an aspiring magician, and he does his tricks pretty well. He acts the same way as KID does around girls-" She rolled her eyes. "- and he's the same height and all. But... I don't really believe it's him. He seems honest, a nice person. I don't think KID would openly act the way he normally acts while out of his costume. He seems too smart for that. Besides, there's just no concrete proof that he is a KID."

Hakuba thought about this. "Yeah, I see why you don't agree."

"And I can see why you believe he's KID."

Hakuba nodded, took a sip of his drink. "I'm going to catch him", he said, putting the glass down. "I will catch him and prove that Kaito Kuroba is Kaitou KID."

Shinichi nodded. "If you turn out to be correct, you will have my apologies."

Hakuba smiled at her. "No need to apologize", he said, with his usual gallant smoothness. "You took the time to hear me out, and I appreciate that you didn't just immediately disprove or agree with my opinion. You took the time to investigate my theory, and made your own decision based on your own experience."

"Have I earned your respect, then?"

Hakuba laughed. "That implies you didn't have it before. Yes, you've earned my respect, not that you haven't earned it already."

"You have my respect."

They both smiled at each other.

**... He's okay, I guess**, Pandora admitted grudgingly.

_I can see now why so many people seem to fancy him._

**But not you?**, Pandora said in alarm.

_Idiot, of course not me. We share a brain, does it look like I love this guy?_

Pandora gave a relieved sigh.

Shinichi stood. "I think we'd better get back now. Nakamori should have calmed down by now, and I'm pretty sure Hattori will absolutely _love_ to hear what I've been doing while he was getting chewed out."

"Your boyfriend", Hakuba stated knowledgeably.

Shinichi snorted. "No. He's a friend."

"But... he's staying at your house."

"There was murder at the hotel he was going to stay at, and the investigation uncovered health issues. It's been shut down. I live alone, and my house is pretty big... all the guest rooms have their own toilets, so the only facility we share is the kitchen. I don't often see him, actually. I think he's taken to exploring the house as a pastime once the library became boring."

"Oh... I thought he was your boyfriend." They were walking now, back towards the police headquarters, and Nakamori. "So this means you are a lesbian?"

Shinichi almost choked. "Uh..."

"It's just that you told me about you and your friend", Hakuba said hastily.

"No, I... I have someone I like now. A boy", she added. "So I don't know. That thing with Ran might have been a one off."

"So, you don't like girls?"

"I don't know", Shinichi sighed. "I've never liked a girl other than Ran, but then I've never liked a boy other than... the person I currently like", she finished lamely.

Hakuba nodded thoughtfully, then started in surprise. Shinichi followed his gaze to see Kaito and Ran's look-alike, Aoko, walking down the street. They appeared to be arguing. Kaito's arms were laden with pretty boxes and carrier bags.

"Can't you carry some of these? They're _heavy"_, Kaito complained.

"Don't whine", Aoko snapped. "What, you'd let a delicate, frail girl such as myself take the weight of all those heavy bags?"

"You're not delicate and frail in the least. You didn't have to buy all this stuff, you know. You don't even need it. Why can't you carry some? Just a few, so I can at least see where I'm going?"

Aoko gave him an evil glare, then noticed Hakuba. "Hakuba-kun! And..." She thought for a moment. "... Shinichi Kudo, right?"

"That's right", the blonde detective smiled.

Kaito peered around the stack of boxes in front of his face and smiled. "Shinichi, hi!"

"Hello, Kaito-kun", Shinichi said politely.

"Aoko-kun", Hakuba smiled, then said, in frosty tones, "And Kuroba-kun."

"Hey there", Kaito said cheerfully. "What are you two doing here?"

"We just had lunch."

"Oh, lunch... together", Kaito said. His smiled became slightly menacing.

"We wanted to escape from Nakamori-san", Shinichi explained, not noticing Kaito's anger.

"From dad?", Aoko said, surprised.

"Uh, yeah. Your father can be a little... loud sometimes", Shinichi said delicately.

"Was he yelling at you?", Aoko said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Hakuba felt himself praying for Nakamori.

"No, not at me. But I had a headache, so..."

Aoko nodded, her anger gone. "Yeah. You're right, he can be quite loud. I'm just glad he didn't pass it on to me."

Kaito stifled a laugh. Hakuba looked away. The two girls looked at them curiously before saying their goodbyes. As the two detectives walked away, they heard Kaito and Aoko's argument resume.

* * *

Shinichi fiddled absent-mindedly with her pen. She frowned down at the list Nakamori had compiled, of ways to trap, hoodwink, and capture KID. Shinichi ran an eye down the list, and could immediately think of half a dozen ways to escape from each and every one of them.

Which meant that KID could too.

Drop a net on him... he could throw a smoke bomb and cut his way out in seconds.

Surround the objective of the heist with lasers... then how would they be able to stop KID if he somehow managed to make his way in?

Catch him a cage... hadn't that one already been done before?

Shinichi crossed out the definitely doomed suggestions on the list, and added a few better suggestions of her own. Then, she gave it back to Nakamori.

"None of these are definitely going to work", she told him. "If we combine a few of the original suggestions, we might be in with a chance of catching him. But we've got to be realistic. There's no point setting a trap for KID that we can't escape if he turns it back on us."

Shinichi stretched as Nakamori took the list to his office. She walked over to where Hattori was sitting.

He looked up as Shinichi approached. "What did ya suggest?"

"Helicopters around the top of a building we know KID will attempt to fly away from, traps and cameras planted in air vents. That kind of thing. Likely to slow him down, but unlikely to catch him."

"Can he even be stopped?", Hattori said gloomily.

"Perhaps by a direct meteor strike."

Hattori laughed. "I wonder what he'll do next. His heists are usually quite spectacular, right?"

"Yeah. Lots of mysterious appearances, smoke bombs, and the like."

"He could make quite a lot of money as a street performer. Or a birthday party magician."

"But instead he chooses to steal jewels."

"He's nuts, I tell ya. What kinda person throws themselves off buildings?"

Shinichi shrugged, looked away. "But it's weird. It's been almost a week now since the last heist."

"He usually does 'em more often?"

"Yeah..."

"Maybe he's hit a block. Run outta ideas."

Shinichi thought about this. "I can't imagine that."

Hattori grinned mischievously. "Or maybe he's dead. Got hit by a car or somethin'."

Shinichi went pale and stared at Hattori. "Idiot! Don't ever joke about something like that!"

Hattori blinked, surprised by the anguish in her voice. "Ah... okay. Sorry."

"How could you even bring yourself to..." Shinichi shook her head and looked away. "Jesus, Hattori", she muttered. She could taste blood and realized she'd bitten her lip.

But it wasn't true, right? She'd seen Kaito earlier that week, but maybe he'd got into an accident since then? Or maybe he was ill. Should she go see him? But it would be weird to check up on him, right?

Hattori stared Shinichi's rigid shoulders and decided to refrain from making any jokes like that again.

* * *

Kaito stared at Aoko in shock. "What?!"

"Yeah, I know, right? I thought for sure they were a couple since they were living together, but..."

"Wait, living together? That... monkey boy and Shinichi?!"

"BaKaito, stop calling him that! Because of KID, even the media is referring to Hattori-kun as 'monkey'. Actually, I met with him and Kudo-chan the other day and..."

Kaito tuned Aoko out. She had just revealed that, according to Hakuba, Shinichi and Hattori weren't a couple. He hadn't even been aware that they seemed to be more than friends, until the newspaper had published an article on the 'mysterious young man' who was 'holed up' with the blonde detective. Apparently, they were even living in the same building.

Couple or not, Kaito was pissed. Who did that damn... _monkey_ think he was? And it was so unfair- everyone seemed to be getting closer to Shinichi that he was. Kaito was getting increasingly annoyed, and it wasn't helped by Aoko chattering about her and Shinichi running into each other the day before.

Kaito decided that it was time for another heist. And he had the perfect idea for it.

* * *

I love doing character outfit descriptions. I sort of view my characters as dress up dolls, especially Shinichi ^.^ Hopefully, I toned it down a bit this time, though.  
I'm getting a bit writers-blocky again. But I have a few ideas that will last me a while, so it should be okay. I'm going to try to update a few more times before I go on holiday.

To those of you, who don't know it, I've got an account on Wattpad, if you want to check it out. I'm Uxie22 on Wattpad too. I have quite a few stories on there, although most of them are on hold because I tried to do too many at once ^.^' But I'm slowly updating them.  
But I'd advise you not to read my Demon Stones story. It's my first 'proper' story I ever did, and it contains vast amounts of Mary Sue-ness. You can read it if you want. Just don't expect it to make any sense whatsoever.

Anyway. Yeah. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to update again soon :D


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Two men stood outside of an opposing set of wooden doors. They had been waiting for over fifteen minutes, but they knew better than to give up and leave.

Finally, the doors opened to admit them, noiselessly gliding apart. The two men waited for the lazily drawled, "Enter", before stepping into the room.

It was a room that immediately put you in mind of great riches. The floor was made of white marble that rang like a bell as they walked over it. There were wooden draws set into the panels that made up the room's walls in place of filing cabinets, and a huge set of windows behind the desk before them were the only things that admitted light into the room. The desk was made of expensive, polished wood, with sage green leather stretched over the top. The man who sat in the magnificent chair behind the desk somehow fit right into the picture, despite his kindly face. It was a face no one would suspect, and only those who knew what the man behind it was capable of could feel fear at the sight of it.

For behind that sweet exterior lay the soul of a man as cold and pitiless as the mountainous slopes of hell.

"Ah, Gin and Vodka", the man said, flipping closed the files before him.

"Boss", the two men rumbled in acknowledgement.

"Report."

"Sir, we are not yet certain about the Kudo girl", Gin said. "The two agents we have observing her have reported that the girl acts normally. Although she regularly interacts with the police, and once with the FBI-"

"The FBI?" The kindly old face didn't so much as twitch an eyelid, but a faintly menacing aura began to permeate the air around him.

"In regards to an assassin from a separate organisation targeting some flashy magician. The assassin in question died, and contact with the FBI ceased."

"Very well. Continue."

"Although she regularly interacts with the police and FBI, no mention has been made of us or the dealings the girl witnessed. We have reason to believe that the girl is an impostor. Perhaps someone looking to take over the girl's life for personal reasons or money, or an attempt by the law to lure us out. I am of the opinion that the girl's death was somehow discovered- perhaps a witness of some sort came forth- and now they wish to pique our interest by subtly proclaiming the child is indeed alive. This may very well be an attempt to trap us."

"Have you proof for this?"

"FBI agents have been spotted scoping out the area around the Kudo mansion", Vodka offered. "This leads us to believe that they are waiting for an agent of ours to appear to kill the girl once and for all."

The boss of the Black Organisation was silent for a few moments. Finally, he spoke. "Continue to watch over her. And if she shows any sign of knowledge about us and our dealings, kill her."

Gin smiled a slow, scimitar grin, as sharp and savage as a knife's edge. His dead eyes glittered. "With pleasure."

* * *

Shinichi's eyes snapped open. Had she fallen asleep? That wasn't good.

Shinichi straightened up and tried to look as though she had been listening to Sonoko talk. Beside her, Heiji gritted his teeth as he was interrogated about KID. Sonoko kept firing questions at them, hoping for an answer that wasn't, "I couldn't see his face, it was pretty dark in there", "How should I know what kinda girl tha thief likes?", and, "No, I won't kidnap him for you the next time we meet.".

Shinichi blinked at the wall, and had a sort of waking hallucination that there was moss growing up it. She squeezed her eyes closed, and then pawed around for her mug of coffee. Empty. Shinichi signaled the waiter for a refill and tried to return his smile as he topped it up.

"Shinichi? _Shinichi?_ Are you listening to me?"

"No", Shinichi said, yawning.

"But this might be my chance to finally meet with KID-sama!"

Shinichi looked at Sonoko blearily. She had been up half the night helping solve a case over the phone, and then a heist note from KID had arrived... taped to her fridge. Nakamori and a few officers had insisted on coming over to see how KID had got in. By the time she had solved the note and got the taskforce from her home, it was sunrise.

"I can get you into the heist", Shinichi suggested, desperate for at least a few more minutes of silence.

"Really?", Sonoko breathed, her eyes lighting up.

"There's another heist next Tuesday, and I can get you in", Shinichi said. "Just please, _please_, stop talking to me."

"Er, ah... okay. Thanks."

Shinichi closed her eyes and slumped in her seat. Sonoko greeted Ran as she returned to the table from the toilet.

"Shinichi's acting really weird."

"Detective geek was probably up all night reading again", Ran sighed.

"Not reading", Shinichi mumbled. "I had a case."

"Did someone die?" Sonoko seemed to enjoy hearing the gory details of a case.

"No, they flew away to candy mountain on a lilac alpaca", Shinichi snapped. "Of course someone died!"

"Ha! You should have called Deduction Queen Sonoko!", Sonoko said proudly. "I would have solved that case for you in no time!"

"Shinichi, Sonoko's really good at solving things!", Ran said eagerly. "If you were having trouble with things, you should have called her! She can solve mysteries in a flash!"

Beside Shinichi, Hattori snorted. Shinichi opened one eye to give the two girls the most contemptuous look she could muster, and then turned towards the window.

"Don't mind her", Hattori said loudly. "She just can't accept tha' she sometimes needs help with cases."

Shinichi kicked him under the table and closed her eyes again.

* * *

Pandora was troubled. It had at first thought was it was seeing was a figment of its imagination, or maybe a coincidence. But now it was certain.

They were being followed.

It had told Shinichi, who hadn't reacted with panic or worry, but with admirable calm. She sent the jewel out of it's vessel to see who the person following her was, and Pandora reported back that it was the small, nervous man who it had thrown at KID before. A fairly new member of the taskforce, Akio Matsuoka. The next day, it was another new member of the taskforce, Okura Nagai. Shinichi had then requested that the jewel follow one of them to their homes, and the jewel complied. The man the jewel had followed walked for hours around a shopping centre, stopped off for dinner at a restaurant, and the finally went home. The way he did all these was casual enough, but Pandora saw that the man acted as though he knew someone was watching, and was trying to lose them- stepping through the doors of a tube train seconds before they closed, turning corners suddenly, and walking briskly. The man looked in his post once at home, and burned a piece of paper, an advertisement leaflet, that was in there after reading it- when Pandora reported this to Shinichi, the detective said that the leaflet most likely contained coded orders for the man. The other men Pandora followed over the course of that week all acted the same.

But that wasn't what made Pandora so worried. What made it worried was the fact that every single one of these men wore black.

Shinichi listened thoughtfully to Pandora's tale, and then said, "Jodie-sensei suspected this would happen. Like you said before, the Black Organisation appear to believe that I'm an impostor. All I've got to do is act normally and trust in the FBI to prevent anything bad from happening. Sooner or later, one of them will interact with me to ascertain whether or not I am the real Shinichi Kudo. Then the FBI will act."

**But what if something goes wrong? I don't want you to die, Shinichi.**

"We're all dying, Pandora. We just choose the speed."

* * *

The Black Organisation draws near! Sorry if the Black Organisation agent's names seem weird- I literally looked up male Japanese names and picked the first ones I saw.  
Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm going on holiday tomorrow, so this is as long as it's going to get. If I had more time, I'd make it longer, but...

Guest on the 7/25/13- I'll try to write more Hakushin and Heishin to anger KID ^.^ A tour around the world sounds nice... and the sadistic readers are always the ones that give the most entertaining reviews :)

Guest also on the 7/25/13- I'll obviously do more Kaishin moments! Those are the best parts to write ^.^

GuestP- I'm glad you like the story so much :) I'm getting to the Black Organisation part, I was just trying to draw it out a bit... although maybe I did it too much, huh? ^.^'

m-chan- review on chapter 14-Angel was Vermouth's name for Ran, but KID called Christie 'angel of justice' in a heist note in chapter 5, so I went with Angel for her code name ^.^ In my mental images of Shinichi (in this story) she sort of has the feel of one of those angels of justice, so I went with Angel.  
- review on chapter 24- I made Snake a spiritually inclined character, like Akako. You know how some people claim to be able to see ghosts and spirits? Snake was like that.  
Until I killed him.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to work on the next one while on holiday ^.^


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